


Silurian Scorpions in the Utah Sun

by Fireflykat



Series: International Relations [2]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Primeval
Genre: ARC In America, Alpha Aaron Hotchner, Alpha Derek, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anomaly (Primeval), Calling in brits to help, F/F, M/M, Multi, Nesting, Not Beta Read, Omega Spencer Reid, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rewrite, Rossi has mind blown, Suicide Attempt, obviously struggling, refusing to get help
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:56:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27627128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireflykat/pseuds/Fireflykat
Summary: When the BAU are on the case of missing people in Utah, they find that they may not be equipped to solve this problem. Thankfully they met some people recently who are.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid, Abby Maitland/Sarah Page, Connor Temple and Spencer Reid, Nick Cutter/Stephen Hart/Connor Temple
Series: International Relations [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997992





	1. What's This?

**Author's Note:**

> I am not done with the previous one in this series. I am getting there. But I started writing this one night and couldn't stop. so here you are.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ARC is called in when the BAU gets a case involving missing in Utah that turns out to be different than what they think  
> Connor is struggling with the events from the previous series - see Backstory Comes Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Suicide attempt, Suicidal Ideation, Depression, Discussion of Past events

David Rossi stood and stared, gun drawn, at the spinning ball of fractured light in front of him. His mouth fell open as his gun fell, useless to his side. “I found something here, but I have no idea what it is.” He said into the radio attached to his sleeve.

“We are on our way.” Hotch answered swiftly. A minute later, He, Reid, and Prentiss were jogging into the basement where Rossi was standing, joining him at the spinning ball of light. 

“Huh.” Reid said simply. “So that’s an Anomaly.”

“Pretty.” Prentiss put in,

“What are you talking about?” Rossi asked, approaching the light. “Do you think this is where the disappearances are happening?” 

“I wouldn’t go through that.” Hotch said hesitantly. “We don’t know when it leads to.” 

“We need backup,” Agreed Reid, “Their turn this time.” 

“In the meantime we should coordin off this area so nothing goes in and nothing dangerous comes out.” Prentiss put in. 

“I feel like I’m still missing something.” Rossi said, feeling very lost as his teammates ushered him out of the cellar.

“Understandably.” Hotch said, “Unfortunately, we would be committing treason if we told you anything.” He reached for his phone. “Garcia, I need you to get in touch with our friends in London. Our case may be prehistoric in size.” He heard her squeal on the other end. 

“Does that mean I get to show Connor the Dino Tech wonder boy my toys?” She asked with obvious relish.

“Unfortunately no,” He said, “We need them out here, in Utah. But maybe after they can stop by Quanico, if they don’t have anything pressing to take care of.” He could hear her slouch on the other end. 

“Fine, I will call the reptile experts and bring them over in a jif!” She said. 

* * *

Connor was just leaving the Hub when the phone rang. The American number was one he knew by heart after the constant discussions following his rescue. He answered with a grin “Ms FBI!” He said happily.  
  
“Hatter!” Said a chipper voice on the other end. “Looks like we have a you shaped problem over here.” 

“Wha?” He asked simply. “An anomaly?” in the states? He thought

“Not quite sure,” She admitted, “Hotch just said that we may be looking at a Prehistoric problem, which I assumed was code for getting our Dino friends to them ASAP.” 

“I can’t bring us to the colonies.” He admitted. “I don’t have that power.” He thought for a moment. He really didn’t feel like dealing with Lester. “Gimme a sec, Pen,” he ran out of the Hub to Cutter’s lab, wincing from the burn marks, not quite fully healed on his back. 

“Nick!” He said, seeing his Alpha raise his eyes from what he was working on. “I think the BAU has an Anomaly problem.” Stephen walked over looking at Connor quizzically.

“What makes you say that?”

“Penelope Garcia.” He stated simply, holding out the phone, pushing the speakerphone button. “We have been talking a lot since I was rescued. And It looks like Agent Hotchner asked her to reach out to us because they found something suspiciously like a fracture in time.” 

“All he said was it was a Prehistoric sized problem,” Garcia admitted over the phone, “But we have a newish team member who wasn’t with us when we visited you at the ARC, so doesn’t know about what you all do.” 

“How did you get caught up in this?” Cutter asked with furrowed brows. 

“The case was of several dozen missing people. Most recent was a few days ago. The police turned it over to us.” She explained. “We found out that all the missing persons were looking for houses or realtors over the past 20 years, and none have ever been seen again. So we started looking into the houses up for sale in that period.”

“A recurring Anomaly” Connor and Nick said at the same time. 

“No strange creatures?” Stephen asked

“It’s in Utah.” Garcia said. “Odd creatures are kinda normal,” She tried to explain. “Not to mention, the properties were huge, ranches and stuff, backing up onto large acres of land.”

“A creature could easily have gotten out and been missing for years in that terrain.” Stephen said, thinking. 

“Looks like we need to get to Utah.” Cutter said. 

“Good thing I got that Locker finished.” Connor said with a grin. 

“Is it portable yet?” Stephen asked 

“Fairly.” Connor huffed. “At least we know it works. Or Danny would be mincemeat due to that herd of G-sauruses.” 

“How quickly can you condense that one?” Cutter asked. “And make another?”

Connor paused for a moment, doing some mental calculations. “20 minutes to condense it, 15 to make a second one.” 

“Good, do it.” Cutter said swiftly. “I will clear our departure with Lester and get the rest of the team.” 

“So you will come?” Garcia asked “What should I tell Hotch to do about the Anomaly until you arrive?”

“Stay away from it!” All three scientists answered immediately. 

“Ok!” She said with chagrin. 

“Barricade themselves somewhere secure, and be on the lookout for any creatures that look like they don’t belong.” Stephen added 

“Even large Herbivores can be dangerous when they catch you unawares or you startle them.” Nick said eyes boring into Connor. 

“What?” Connor looked back at Nick with defiance, “C’mon mate, I was doing my job!” he bowed his head under the Alpha’s stern glare. Then admitted. “It’s true though, if you don’t know what you’re dealing with, better to stay away.” 

“Message will be relayed!” Said the sunny voice at the other end of the line, then there was a pause before she said “Connor?” he gave a cheerful hm as Stephen and Cutter’s eyes shot towards him and the phone, they knew what was coming. “179, take me off speaker, ok?” She said in the gentlest voice she could.” He did so, looking slightly confused. “How are you doing?” She asked him. His eyes shot up to his mates nervously, and he sped out of the room. He ran his hands, one after another down his long sleeved arms, covering up the small cuts that were littering them, and the one long one. 

“What do you mean,” He asked in a falsely cheerful voice. “I’m great! And I’ve always wanted to go to the Colonies, did you know that the largest number of fossils in america were found in the southwest in the 1960. They ranged from dinosaurs from the Jurassic to mammals of the cambrian. I think one of our anomalies may have actually led us there, it’s pretty wicked, in fact most of the- “

“Hey, jr genius,” Garcia cut him off, “You know how I love to hear you ramble facts, but I’m serious.”

“I’m fine Pen,” Connor assured her, “Anyway, if we are going to go help, I need to go get things ready! Cheers!” He hung up and took a breath. Then he forced a smile back on his face and ran out of his lab towards the menagerie. 

“Abby!” Connor called with an infectious laugh, running out of the room towards his best friend. “We are going to AMERICA!!” 

Stephen and Cutter smiled indulgently as they heard their mate squeal and laugh with the Beta.

They both knew that he was good at hiding the trauma he had experienced in Yorkshire six months previously, especially at work. “See,” Nick said, pulling Stephen in close to him, and placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. “He is managing.” 

“You know as well as I do that he isn’t.” Stephen said, hugging the other man close, brows furrowed in worry. Recently Connor constructed a nest in his room and had been sleeping in it whenever he could. Normally a nest was used for an Omega who was in heat, but often distressed Omegas will feel safer in a nest than in the open. Just last night they found him sleeping in his nest again, he had been afraid to fall asleep in the bedroom since he was taken. Even with his Alphas present. Stephen had tried to carry him to bed but Connor had thrashed viciously in his arms, not recognising his Mate. Nick had to come over as Stephen lay the boy back down and they soothed him back to sleep together. 

Neither one had touched him sexually since his return, the past two Heats, Connor had locked himself in his nest the entire three days refusing to open the door for anyone, including the placating gifts of water, food and blankets Stephen and Nick set outside his closet door. They would come back hours later to find everything right where they had left it, pained sounds still emitting from within the closet. Stephen’s heart broke at his inability to comfort his struggling mate during this time. Nick had dragged him away towards their shared bedroom and tried to lose the younger Alpha in a weak pleasure to distract him from the comfort they were both supposed to be giving their Mate. 

Nick tried most days to put on a tough face, as the leader of their pack, but the sight of the pale Omega, hanging from the meat hook, with the words _OMEGA SLAG_ carved into his back cautaurised crudely, dried blood caking his back, still haunted his dreams. He remembered rushing over to the unconscious boy, who’s arms had been dislocated due to some reason he didn’t know. He could still smell the scent of his Omega in distress filling his nostrils and sometimes he had to go to Connor just to breath in his lover’s current scent that was filled with love and happiness to rid himself of the memory. 

The kidnapping had been traumatic for everyone, yet Connor still refused to discuss what the Alphas did to him. They could see the physical clues, but everyone could tell that there was more that the boy wasn’t saying. It frustrated Nick, infuriated Lester, saddened Abby, and distressed Stephen to see the boy struggling with these things on his own. He adamantly refused to see a psychologist, saying that he wasn’t broken and that he could get through himself. But the gloves had returned and Cutter couldn’t quite forget what he found out the day in the Manchester Football stadium when Ditzy removed Connor’s gloves for the first time. Connor stopped wearing short sleeve shirts, even though it was approaching summer, and both Nick and Stephen tried to pretend that they didn’t see the spots of blood on the washtowels in the bathroom, and the constantly thinning first aid kit in the bathroom cupboard. 

Stephen and Nick took turns to keep an eye on it and keep it stocked. They knew that if they didn’t give the boy access to the medical supplies, it wouldn’t keep him from the self harm he was inflicting, it would just keep him from doing it safely. They didn’t know how to confront him about it either. Not yet. He was just starting to do better. If he needed a vice, they would allow him one, as long as he didn’t kill himself, or switch to anything more dangerous. He refused treatment, so what were they supposed to do. At least, until last week, when they had found Connor bleeding out in their guest bathtub.

Nick and Stephen had been making dinner after an easy day at the base, Connor said he wanted a shower when they noticed his smell overpowered by what they were cooking. They had been cooking something with a lot of aroma, so they didn’t think much of it until they heard a quiet **thump** right above them and suddenly could smell very clearly the smell of an Omega in extreme distress. They looked at each other and sprinted up the stairs. They followed the fading pheromones towards the guest bath and the scene that met them burned itself in Stephen’s retinas. 

Every time Stephen entered a bathroom since then he thought he would find Connor crumpled up and bleeding, the shower running over his exsanguinating form. Blood flowing freely from a gash in his wrist and another on his exposed thigh, a long gash right through the brand he had been given six months previously. He had thought his heart would stop as Connor weakly tried to push him away while crying as Stephen and Nick together tried to put pressure on the open cuts. “Little Omega,” He said quietly, coming up to kneel next to Stephen, taking hold of the bleeding arm as Stephen tried to wrap the boy’s thigh. “Why?”

Connor just cried and mumbled insults that were harsher than any Nick or Stephen had ever heard Connor ever say. “Ugly, worthless, useless, omega slag…” he said, the line of insults obviously ones that were familiar to him. “Good-for-nothing, you’ll leave me, waste of space, leave me, bother…” Connor kept up the litany of self abuse until Nick kissed him into silence. 

“Enough,” Nick said firmly. “You are none of those things.” 

Connor took his free hand and started banging it against his head, seemingly unable to hear or register what Nick said to him. “Ugly, worthless, useless, omega slag.” He continued “Good-for-nothing, leave me, waste of space, leave me, bother, baby maker, stupid, social climber, gonna leave me anyway, slut, fuck toy, only worth is a quick shag…” Cutter and Stephen looked at each other as they kept the wounds closed. “Shag me.” He said turning to Stephen with hollow eyes. “Fuck me.” he said shifting his gaze to Nick. “Please, fuck me so it hurts, I need it to be painful, I was bad! Punish me!” 

“You are not bad, you are good, so good,” Stephen practically purred then said, “You have never, or will never need a punishment. Let’s get you to a hospital now” 

“But they will keep me,” Connor said, eyes wide with fear. “I can’t go back!” He tried to grab his hair with both hands, but Nick was still holding the one that had been cut. “I can’t go back to that place again! Don’t make me!” he pulled his good leg up to his chest and buried his face in it. 

“No one is making you go back to that place,” Nick tried to reassure Connor. “No one will ever take you back _there_ again. But we need to get you an A&E to get you looked at.”

Connor eyed Nick, “You will stay?” Nick and Stephen both nodded. Connor took a deep breath, “OK, fine.”

Connor had required 8 stitches and a 48 hour suicide watch. He kept giving furtive looks to Stephen and Nick. When one got up for a moment he tensed, but he also had to make eye contact with them whenever they touched him or he would start to panic. They couldn’t hold his hand while he slept, but Connor still kept reaching out for them in the night. As they watched Connor asleep under sedation, peaceful for a moment, Stephen put his head against Nick’s shoulder and let out the anger and frustration he was feeling over not being able to help their mate. Nick patted Stephen’s back, tears in his eyes too, eyes never leaving Connor’s still form. “He’s gonna be ok,” Nick said quietly. “He’s a tough lad.”

“Why does he think we are going to leave him?” Stephen asked, with anguish. “Have we ever given him the impression that we would just drop him like that?”

“Alpha’s can have more than one partner,” Nick said with trepidation. “You know that. It’s not unheard of for an Alpha to drop a mate.”

Abby had come in at that point, and seeing Connor’s still form burst into tears. Sarah had come in behind her and held her close. “I thought he was doing well.” Becker said, coming into the room behind the two girls, Jenny just beside them, Danny taking up the rear. 

“I don’t think he ever really recovered from that incident.” Nick said, rubbing Stephen’s back as the tracker straightened and wiped his eyes. “He is just adept at wearing a mask.” 

“It’s been cracking for some time.” Stephen said, going over to the bed and refraining from brushing the Omega’s hair back with difficulty. “bad nightmares, dissociation, fear of touching, loss of concentration, he’s been frustrated with himself to the point of throwing things, cutting, and we have to watch him during meals, or else he won’t eat.”

“I thought I heard a crash coming from one of the labs last week,” Sarah said, “Are you saying that was him?” Nick nodded. 

“How did none of us notice?” Jenny asked with concern. 

“Like Nick said,” Stephen explained, “He is good at wearing a mask.”

“He even wears it at home,” Nick added. “We just catch more slip ups because we are around him more.” 

“We hear him swear and throw things in his room then start crying,” Stephen informed the group, seeing their worried looks, “We see him thrashing around at night, unable to differentiate between us and the Alphas in his nightmares.”

“We find him dissociated in the middle of the kitchen, shivering without knowing where he is,” Nick expressed, with concern written all over his face, as he watched his sleeping face. 

“And tonight we smelled his distress which led us to finding him collapsed in the bathroom covered in blood.” Stephen finished. 

The members of the ARC looked horrified. “I thought he was getting help,” Abby explained. “I confronted him about how skinny he had gotten. He told me he was getting help.” 

Nick and Stephen looked at each other. “What aren’t you saying?” Abby demanded. 

“He refuses to get help.” Stephen sighed.

“We nearly had to drag him here tonight.” Nick put in. 

“He says he is ok, or will be, and can deal with himself,” Stephen continued. “Says that he’s done it before.” 

The group looked at each other with worry. They knew very little about the boy’s past. It was only recently, thanks to the help of the BAU that they found out that he had been a foster child, and removed from his home due to abuse when he was ten. It had turned out that his kidnapper had been from one of his foster homes. One of their biological children who was jealous of the Omegas who managed to get ahead despite their gender. But Connor wouldn’t open up about what happened after he was kidnapped, or what sort of abuse he suffered when he was a child. It was concluded that his heat was sold to customers while he was in the care of his ex-foster brother, but besides the physical injuries, which had been extensive, they didn’t know what he had gone through. It was tearing Nick and Stephen up inside, partly because of how guilty they felt since their mate had been hurt while they were with him. Even if they had been drugged, the primal anguish of not being able to protect their mate was agonising. It seemed to heighten as they watched him suffering now, unable to even hold him or comfort him with their scents.

 _Girls Just Wanna Have FUUUNN!! OOOH Girls JUST WANNA HAVE --_ Abby took out her phone, “That’s Penelope’s ringtone,” She said confused, answering it and leaving the room, “Hey, Pen,” 

Connor started to toss in his sleep, it seemed the sedation had worn off into regular sleep. “Stop,” He muttered. He covered his face with his hands as he tossed more violently. Stephen tried went to try and sooth him but before he could touch the Omega, Connor screamed “DON’T TOUCH ME!” and he curled in on himself. Jenny, Sarah, Becker and Danny stood by in alarm, not knowing what to do. Nick and Stephen, who had seen the nightmares nearly nightly, stood by helplessly. Sarah walked up and crouched down next to Connor.

“Shhh,” She said, tentatively stroking his hair. “You are ok.” To everyone’s surprise Connor didn’t flinch at the Beta’s touch. She looked at Nick who gave an encouraging nod. She tried again, this time putting a soft forefinger on his cheek, and stroking it. He started to relax into her touch. He whimpered slightly but dropped off again. 

“These nightmares happen every night?” Becker asked Nick and Stephen. They nodded. 

“He must be exhausted,” Jenny said with sympathy, then he examined the two Alpha mates. “So must you two. How are you guys holding up?”

“It hasn’t been easy,” Nick confided, “That’s for sure, the lad won’t even sleep in our bed anymore.”

“Why not?” Asked Danny, still a little out of the loop.

“Ah, Right,” Jenny remembered, “You weren’t here when it happened. He was taken directly out of his bed.” Stephen nodded curtly. 

Abby came back into the room and walked behind to where Sarah was, next to Connor’s curled up form. She hugged the Dr from behind and addressed the room. “Well, Penelope knows, and she told Spencer.” She sighed. “I’m guessing they would be on the next flight over if they had any time off. By now I’m guessing they all know.” 

Nick and Stephen cringed a moment, but the rest looked slightly confused. “Penelope Garcia and Spencer Reid,” She clarified. “The agents at the BAU.”

“Connor’s been talking to Spencer twice a week for months now.” Stephen said, “He likes talking to someone who can keep up with him.” 

“And from what I can tell, he and Garcia hack each other for fun and leave other messages and updates.” Abby said. “She was crying, said that neither of them had any suspicions that anything was wrong.” Abby carded her fingers through Connor’s hair. He seemed to lean into the touch unconsciously. 

* * *

When he awoke in the morning they brought in a Beta Psychologist to assess Connor and Connor seemed his normal happy self. But as soon as the Psychologist came out to talk to Nick and Stephen they saw Connor slump back on the bed and stare at a wall with a blank look on his face. 

“It seems like Connor is dealing with a great deal of trauma that he is refusing to acknowledge.” The Psychologist said to Cutter and Stephen. 

“He was kidnapped six months ago.” Cutter disclosed after sharing a look with his co-mate. “He had his heat sold to numerous sexual sadists before we found him.”

“He won’t talk about what he went through.” Stephen put in. “We want to help, but we don’t know how. He flat out refused to see a psychologist when he returned.”

The psychologist nodded. “In my experience, Omegas have a hard time admitting their weakness when they are surrounded by Alphas. Especially if they are in a demanding job that is not typical for an Omega. They feel that it took all they had to get there and they can’t afford to make a misstep. Even Bonded Omegas in this position have a hard time showing weakness towards their partners.” 

Stephen and Nick looked at each other. That explained a lot. 

“Is there anything we can do to get him to open up?” Stephen asked.

“Just be there for him,” The Psychologist said. “Keep reminding him that no matter what happens, you need him where he is, that he is important to your workplace and that he will not be replaced because of his gender. Once he realises he has worth as an omega, instead of _in spite_ of being an omega, he might be more willing to show you his weakness. Right now he feels defined by his secondary gender because of his abuse. You need to show him that your relationship is more than just about alpha/omega. Reign in your alphas for a while.”

They nodded, and since then had been trying to be as neutral as they could while still show their love for their mate. They tried to pamper him without getting close to their mating marks, Connor seemed to slowly be warming back up to them, although he still wouldn’t sleep in their bed. 

One day Stephen had gone to check on Connor in his room and found everything shoved out of his closet, stacked in the center of his bed. The bed was stripped of all the blankets and pillows and all the spare blankets were gone too. Quietly Stephen padded over to the closet and opened it slightly. He found Connor in a ball, cuddled in an expertly crafted nest of blankets and pillows pulled from all over the house, including a sheet from the master bed, which he held close to his face. He was sleeping peacefully, more peacefully than he had done in days, so Stephen closed the closet door again and left the room. He went to Nick with a small smile. “You know that sheet from our bed that disappeared last week?” Nick nodded. “I found it.” Nick looked questioningly at him. “Notice anything else going missing recently?” Stephen asked, looking around the living room. Nick looked, the throw was gone, as were the decorative pillows, and the knit afgan. 

“Nest?” NIck asked with a smile? Stephen nodded

“Sound asleep in his closet” 

“That’s good,” Nick said, “Let’s let him have his space for a while.” 

“You don’t understand Nick,” Stephen said, “He took OUR sheet. The USED sheet, right off our bed. He was holding it close to his face.”

Nick brightened. “Really?” Stephen nodded. 

“I think it may still be a while,” Stephen said, “But we could be moving forward.” 

* * *

“Hotchner” Aaron answered the phone to hear a familiar bright voice on the other end. 

“Mi Lord,” Garcia said with spirit. “I have contacted the Dino G-men across the pond, and the prof says that he will argue the case to Lester forthwith.”

“Great,” He said, with a sigh of relief. “Any recommendations on what we should do here while we wait?”

“Make sure no one can get through, and barricade yourself somewhere safe incase something bity has come through.” She said. “Wait, the not bity ones too. Apparently the Herbivores can be dangerous in a different way, think nervous Elephant that double in size.” Hotch winced as he remembered Manny the Mammoth. 

“Right.” He said, “We will keep that in mind”

“On the plus side,” She said, “Seems as if Connor got that gadget working.” 

“What gadget.” He asked 

“The locker?” Spencer asked overhearing Hotch and guessing the topic of conversation. 

“That one, Boy Wonder!” She said. “It has been field tested and he is making it travel sized.” Reid didn’t hear because Garcia wasn’t on speaker. 

“Well, that’s this case solved.” Hotch said. “At least on our end. We should talk to Lester and JJ about finding a cover story for this…”

“Shall I patch you through?” She asked

“No,” Hotch said, “I will call Lester myself.” 

“Sounds good! Ta!” and Garcia hung up. 

“Whose Lester?” Rossi asked, as they stood outside the house. Morgan and JJ turned up. 

“Why are we calling the ARC?” Morgan asked, hearing the name.

“We found the cause of the disappearances,” Emily said. “We will need a bit of British help with this one.” JJ lit up. 

“Jenny?” She asked with clear delight. 

Hotch had his phone out and was searching through the contacts but he nodded to her. “We have an Anomaly, looks like people have been going through for years.” Hotch said. “No one is kidnapping them, they just disappear in time, but we aren’t equipped for this. We will need help.”

“Any creatures?” Morgan asked, 

“Not that could be seen,” Prentiss put in, “But look at the giant desert behind us. If it had been open before, and been open for a while, anything could be out there.”

“True.” Morgan mused. “We aren’t trained to hunt these sorts of creatures. We are better with the human monsters.”

“Thankfully we know people who can deal with this.” Hotch said with the phone to his ear. “ Lester? This is Agent Hotchner, We need your help. What did Cutter tell you?... We are in Texas. We don’t know how long it’s been open but the last disappearance was three days ago, and we have reports of disappearances dating back at least 20 years… What? We could check further. Sure. No, No bodies, but we are next to about 500 square miles of desert. Great, We will be waiting. Garcia will send you our exact location. Oh, we have a new member of our team. How should we approach the OSA with him? Got it.” Hotch hung up. And turned to his team. 

“The ARC will be here in 5 hours, we are to stay clear until then,” He turned to JJ, “Jenny is coming along to help with a cover story,” he turned to Rossi, “We have permission to tell you everything, but you have to sign the Official Secrets Act after the case is over. Captain Becker will be coming with a copy of it. Stephen, Cutter, Connor and Abby are on their way with Becker and some SFs, apparently Sarah, Jenny, someone named Danny Quinn, and the rest of the SFs are staying behind in case of any Anomalies in the UK.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUICIDE IS NEVER THE ANSWER!! if you believe someone you love is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please seek help immediately.


	2. Interrupted Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor and Spencer bond and Spencer discovers how deep Connor's wounds go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW; Mentions of past abuse, Suicide Ideation, Suicide attempt
> 
> Discussion of all and any idea of bonding and disrupted or interrupted bonding is all on me, just my own ideas. Similarly the idea that a Mating Bite takes time to fully bond. not canon for A/B/O Universe. I don't think. The thing about knotting also
> 
> I tried to make it objective and understandable though
> 
> Also, Spencer Reid is a little bit OOC, Sorry... Connor is SUPER OOC.

Stephen awoke instantly to a familiar muffled whimper close by. Nick was already out of his seat on the private jet and at the side of the sleeping Omega when Stephen had finished unbuckling his seatbelt and finished striding over. Nick caressed the boy’s hair as he thrashed on the couch, clawing at the cuts he had made the previous week. Stephen held his hands in his own before too much blood could be spilled. “Our beautiful Omega,” Nick said quietly. “Come back to your Alphas.” 

Connor seemed to relax for a moment as Nick held up his wrist for him to smell, then recoiled violently, turning over and curling up in a fetal position, his hands clasped tightly on the two mating bites on his neck. “Nick, Stephen,” He whimpered quietly, “help!” 

“I thought he was doing better.” Abby said getting up from her seat and joining the Alphas beside the tech. “Why can’t he recognise you?”

“He does.” Stephen said sadly. “But his instincts are at war with his trauma right now, so the psychologist said. He is having a hard time differentiating between Alpha scents.”

Abby thought for a moment then sat next to Connor. “Connor, sweetheart,” she said lovingly to her friend, “Wake up, you are ok, it’s just a dream.” 

When Connor didn’t move, a voice said. “It worked when Sarah did it in the hospital,” Becker came over to stand next to the group “You try,”

She looked at the Captain, confused. “But we are Betas, we don’t smell.”

“Exactly,” Becker said. “He is being inundated with too many strong pheromones that he can’t properly identify a threat level from. At least if Stephen is correct. If he can’t tell instinctually right now, without opening his eyes I mean, which Alphas are dangerous to him, and the whole plane is full of Alpha scent, the neutral scent of a Beta may help him relax enough to get free. Probably why it worked when Sarah tried to calm him down before.” Stephen and Nick looked upset and uncomfortable at Becker’s words. But Abby leaned over the cowering boy and gave over her wrist as a placating offering. After a moment, Connor took the wrist and inhaled deeply, then nuzzled her arm. He opened his eyes, releasing her at once. 

“Nick! Stephen!” He said, flinging himself into their arms. “I’m so sorry.” He was on the verge of tears. “I did it again, didn’t I?”

“It’s Ok, Connor.” Stephen said, stroking his back gently. “No one expects you to recover overnight.”

* * *

The team disembarked at a small airstrip and made their way to the house outside of Monument Valley, Utah, where the BAU were waiting for them. Connor’s eyes lit up as if it were Christmas when he saw Dave talking to Hotch in the driveway. 

They all got out and Cutter greeted Hotch genially. “Agent Hotchner.” He said, holding out a hand. 

Hotch took it and smiled, “Professor Cutter, glad you could make it. You haven’t met the newest member of our team,” he gestured towards Dave standing next to him who also held out his hand. 

“SSA Dave Rossi,” said the Italian, “Thanks for getting here so quick.”

Stephen and Becker were busy around the back of the Jeeps choosing guns. Abby was standing next to them arguing with Stephen. Connor stood next to Cutter bouncing on the balls of his feet, giving Cutter a furtive look. Nick smiled and Connor shot forward towards Rossi. 

“Agent David Rossi, I love your work!” He said stopping right in front of the agent but not touching him. Dave just looked slightly taken aback at the speed the Omega was talking. “I can’t believe I am actually meeting you! Your work with the BTK Killer is wicked. I wanted to do a report on you in year 5, but my teacher wouldn’t let me.” he looked sad for a moment, then perked up again, “I did one anyway though. You and Jason Gideon started the BAU in the 80s right? I met him in London -,” Nick put his hand on the boys head and pulled him back to his side, a bit of a chuckle. 

“Enough lad,” Cutter said, pulling him in close. “We can talk after we do our jobs.” Connor blushed. Then he saw Reid and Morgan coming out of the house talking. 

“Spencer!” He cried, and ran over and hugged the other Omega. 

“Hi, Connor,” Reid said with a smile, Connor pulled back and gave him a dimpled smile. 

“Hi, Morgan,” Connor said, staying close to Reid. Reid and Morgan both noticed the slight fear creeping into his eyes and his smile turn forced.

“How are you, Connor?” Morgan asked with a smile, not extending a hand. 

“Fine.” Said the Omega with the same fake smile. “I’m gonna get my Locker and check out the Anomaly. Where is it?”

“I’ll show you,” Spencer offered. Connor grinned brightly at the older Omega. 

“Thanks!” he said and he ran back to the car, not noticing the Alpha’s conversing.

* * *

“How is he?” Hotch asked, watching Connor run up to Spencer.

“Struggling,” Cutter said, the two of them now seeing his body language change as he saw Morgan. “He won’t talk to anyone about what happened, he has been sleeping in a nest instead of in our bed, and he can’t recognise Stephen or My scent without him seeing us. He is terrified. He has been dissociating, and we have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he eats. He can’t focus like he used to which makes him frustrated and angry. The worst part is that he keeps begging us not to leave him.” Nick sighed. “But he is an expert at putting up a facade, so no one knows except what he lets slip.”

Hotch and Dave looked worried. “Garcia said he tried to commit suicide last week.” Hotch said. 

“It’s true?” Morgan came up behind them. “He did?” Then in answer to the question he said, 

Stephen came to stand by Nick’s side and sighed, a tranq gun over his shoulder. “Yeah,” said Stephen, “He did, I don’t think that image will haunt me for the rest of my life.” 

“He needs professional help,” Morgan said seriously. The whole BAU had immediately grown fond of the British genius who so resembled their own. Even if they didn’t meet him until the end, and not spent a lot of time with him. The stories told about him from his friends, being in his lab, not to mention that Connor was so adept at putting on a mask that he did it within days of being rescued, and was able to meet the BAU fully before they left. It helped that he and Garcia were so similar in their computer abilities that they began hacking each other for the fun of it and leaving each other video messages and notes on each other’s computers, they would text, send each other GIFs and update the other on what was going on. He and Spencer would talk on the phone and discuss the latest academic theories in any and every subject under the sun. Many times Hotch or Morgan would walk in on them talking fluently in different languages. Morgan enjoyed seeing Spencer able to debate and discuss with someone on his level for once. And he could tell Spencer enjoyed it too. He saw Spencer’s face when he found out the news of the boy’s attempted suicide and it was as though Spencer had his heart broken. Garcia had started sobbing and She and Spencer sat in the corner for a while, deciding what to do. In the end they thought that they would wait a week or so before contacting the young man, so as to not pester the boy. It seemed as though luck was on their side. Morgan thought wryly about how Spencer was going to confront Connor about what he did. 

“We know,” Nick stated. “But he refuses point blank. Keeps saying that ‘if he got through it once, he can get through it again’.”

“What the hell happened to that kid when he was young?” Dave asked, who only knew the bit about the kidnapping and trafficking ring. 

“We don’t know much, just what Garcia could dig up.” Morgan replied.

“And we didn’t know any of that until six months ago when he was kidnapped.” Abby put in, joining the group. “He is very private about his past.” Silence fell. 

“Let’s get moving,” Becker called, “Creatures don’t take tea breaks.” there was a wink.

Stephen, Nick and Morgan headed off around the side of the house, towards the desert of Monument Valley. “Hey geniuses,” Abby called, to the three men, “We are in a desert, bring water.” She tossed Nick a backpack with three two litre bottles of water in them.” 

“Good call” Morgan said back, as the three turned and disappeared into the heat haze. Prentiss Abby and Becker decided to go another way. JJ stayed behind. 

“The boys need someone to tell them to hydrate,” She said with a laugh, trying to pass off the truth as a joke. She pulled out some case files from her bag and started going through ones they had been sent for the future. 

Hotch got a call a few moments later. “Morgan, what’s wrong?... A what? ...Seriously? ... Just a moment…” He walked over to the car with all the weapons brought over by the ARC. “What did he say you needed?... Found it. Yeah, I’ll tell Rossi.” he hung up and picked up a harpoon like weapon and a large caliber gun. 

“Hey Dave, the team needs our help,” he said to Rossi, he went to the other car and grabbed the same weapons. “Apparently Connor figured out where the anomaly leads to and they didn’t have the right weapons. Something about an exoskeleton, so tranquilizing is not an option. You need to call Emily and figure out where they are and tell them you are on the way with the correct weapons. Stephen said Abby will know what she is dealing with once she sees the weapons.” 

Dave took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves. This wasn’t really the right attire for creature hunting in the middle of the Utah desert, but his team needed help. Hotch similarly took off his jacket and tie and rolled up his sleeves, he passed the two weapons to Dave, and they set off in the directions the two teams went in. JJ picked up a few water bottles from the back of the van “Hey, boys!” She called at them, they looked back slightly surprised at the address. She held up the water. “Forgetting something?”

“Thanks, JJ,” Hotch said, grabbing the 2 Litre bottle from one hand and jogging away in the direction Morgan, Stephen and Nick went in. 

“Thanks, Kid,” Dave said, taking the other and turning to jog after Prentiss, Abby and Becker. 

She went back to looking through the case files for a while, leaning on the SUV until she herself got thirsty. She grabbed three water bottles and proceeded into the house. She started down the stairs when she heard crying. She looked around and saw a large solid ball of light made of fractured mirrors, and Spencer sitting against the wall looking into a corner at someone she couldn’t see. Spencer saw her standing there with the water and shooed her off with a look. Clearly the two Omegas needed some time to themselves. 

* * *

Connor made his way down to the basement with Reid, feeling more relaxed than he had been for a while. Until they reached the basement that is. He smelled the air. Then he spotted a familiar oversized insect in the corner of the room. “Shite.” He said aloud. He went to the giant millipede and threw it back through the anomaly. It wasn’t nearly as large as an Arthropleura, but it was still larger than was normal for this era. “Silurian Era.” He muttered.

“Encountered that one before?” Reid asked. Connor nodded. 

“Nick and Stephen got trapped for nearly a day.” He continued. “Creatures are not nice.” He set up the locker and pressed a few buttons. The large mirror-like sheet of broken glass shrank to what looked like a ball of broken mirror fragments. “Nothing will be able to get in or out now.” Connor said with a hint of pride. He then started inspecting the ground. He didn’t hit the ground with his foot, just dug his foot into the floor. As he approached the wall closest to the open spaces, Connor felt his foot give slightly. He took another tentative step and the ground gave immensely. Connor nearly fell in, but Spencer ran over and caught the tech before he could. “This is not good.” He said, fear evident in his voice. “You have a working phone, yeah?” The Brit asked the American. Reid nodded. “Which of your team is with Stephen?” He asked. Then shook his head, “Doesn’t matter, Call them. They need to be warned”

Morgan answered on the second ring. “Reid, what’s up?” 

Connor grabbed the phone from Reid before he could say anything. “I need to talk to Stephen or Nick.” He said to the Agent. “It’s urgent.”

“Connor?” Morgan asked into the phone. Stephen heard the name and was by Morgan’s side immediately. 

“What did he find?” The tracker asked. Morgan handed him the phone. “Connor?”

“Silurian era.” Connor said immediately. “Incursion probable,”

Morgan couldn’t hear what Connor said but he saw Stephen’s face set in a hard line. 

“Are you sure? A Silurian Scorpion?” He asked

“Dead sure. The cellar floor is only half concrete, the other half is densely packed earth. Easy enough for a Silurian Scorpion to wiggle through. And this dry dirt is close enough to desert climate that it wouldn’t be too miserable, even with the excess oxygen in the air.” Connor explained, with the usual reasoned argument. 

“You just had to say yes, Connor.” Stephen said with a grin. “Cutter!” He called out to the professor. “Silurian anomaly, Connor reckons we got a scorpion.” Cutter groaned. “Thanks Connor, Stay safe down there. Remember to drink some water” He could hear Connor pout.

“You are the ones chasing after a 8 M long prehistoric scorpion that can eat people whole.” He said without missing a beat. “You be careful.” Then he said slightly desperately. “Come back to me, yeah? You and Nick.”

“You know I can’t promise anything, but we will both try as hard as possible to get back to you.” Stephen said. Then added quietly, “I love you, Connor, you know that right? So does Nick.” 

Connor bit his lip and nodded. Then remembering he was on the phone he said

“Yeah, I do, I love you both too. Be safe.” Then he hung up and handed the phone back to Reid. He noticed Reid watching him for the first time. 

“Are you ok?” Spencer asked the Omega, taking the phone back and putting it in his pocket. 

“Of course,” Connor replied, trying to return to his dimpled smile, “Why would you think I’m not?” He asked.

“You’re crying, for one.” Spencer said, reaching up to brush a tear off his cheek, then pulling back when Connor pulled back into the darkest corner of the basement, sinking onto the floor and curling into himself. A few moments passed with Connor sitting in a fetal position with his hands clenched on top of his hat, making himself as small as he could in the corner, his breathing becoming rapid and shallow, while Spencer sat next to him, not saying a word, just watching. Finally Connor relaxed, his hands falling to his sides, his head fell back to the wall behind him and he closed his eyes. 

“Have you talked to anyone about what happened to you?” Reid asked, coming closer, careful not to touch the traumatised boy. 

Connor shook his head “I’m fine.” He said. Then clarified “I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t have to deal with this on your own, you know.” Reid said “No one expects you to.” 

Connor shook his head again “useless,” he muttered and he hit his head with his fist. “Stupid, ugly, dirty, slag” he continued, hitting his head with his fist after ever insult.

Spencer had a feeling he knew the answer to this already but he still asked the question “who is?” In reply Connor just lifted up the back of his shirt to display healing cuts that looked angry and deep. It also looked like they had been burned, possibly tor cauterisation. Spencer didn’t show his inner horror and outrage. Once they had brought him back from Yorkshire he was bandaged up already and not talking to anyone. Garcia told him that she tried the whole helicopter flight back to try and talk to him, but he barely looked her way. It wasn’t until the next night at dinner that he started messaging select members of the BAU team, Spencer and Garcia chief among them. 

Connor looked up at the older Omega, “They’re gonna leave me,” He whispered with a small wimper, tears in his eyes. “I don’t know what to do.” he buried his face in his arms.

Spencer watched him, he knew the feeling of being stupid after Tobias Hankle kidnapped him, but being dragged into a sex trafficking ring simply because you manage to beat the odds, he didn’t know what to make of that. He really did feel for him. He was a brilliant kid, young man, and their conversations were extremely enjoyable. He could hold his own in every subject. Even criminal profiling. Fear of losing your mates, though, was paralysing and Spencer could see it currently immobilising the young man before him. 

“What gives you the idea that they will leave you?” Spencer asked 

“I’m dirty,” He said into his knees, “They are ashamed of me, I have never been able to measure up to them, and now I just feel like…” he paused 

“Like what, Connor,” Spencer said patiently. 

“They are getting tired of putting up with me.” Connor said miserably. 

“You need to see someone.” Spencer said firmly, “What did the NHS say last week?”

Connor looked confused. Spencer smiled slightly. “You get used to it. Garcia flags everyone who is important to her, if you were in the states she would have come to see you personally.” then Spencer raised his eyebrows at the younger Omega, “Attempted Suicide?” he said seriously. 

Connor didn’t look remorseful, he just looked at the ground as if he was contemplating. “I took some suppressants so they wouldn’t smell me, but it didn’t work, it was stupid to try when they were both home. But they never leave me alone.” Connor must have realised what he said as he flicked his eyes up to see Spencer boring holes through him and quickly covered his mouth with his hands. “That’s not what I meant…” He said evasively, looking off to the side.

“I think that was exactly what you meant. I don’t have to tell you the statistics on suicide do I? You know them as well as I do.” Connor nodded, rolling his eyes. Spencer hit his hat lightly. “I’m serious. I know you’re hurting right now, but suicide is not the answer. There are more people out there who love you than you know.”

Spencer was glad that Connor seemed to feel at least a little ashamed at this. 

“And I have Garcia I can set on you,” He threatened, “Believe me, she is a force of nature when she is on a warpath. She will kick your ass into shape. I am not ready to go back to being ‘boy wonder’ since we met you, she finally gave me a better nickname.”

Connor finally smiled, “Oh yeah, What’s that? Besides 187, because she called you that before, she told me.”

Spencer slugged him lightly on the arm. “She calls me a lot of things, but most recently its American Genius, or Paper Techie.” Connor laughed. “I don’t get the last one”

“I do.” He said with a smile.

“Are you interested in sharing?” Spencer asked. Connor shook his head with a dimpled grin

“Pen has started calling me ‘Hatter’ since Abby told her about my hat collection,” Connor said, wrinkling his nose. “But she also calls me ‘British Brainiac’ and ‘179’ she even made me get an IQ test for her! I told her it wouldn’t be accurate because statistically a person’s IQ starts to decrease due to the lack of creativity presented in schools because of the assembly line like educational format. But she wouldn’t listen. So I took one I found online and voila, now I’m ‘179’. I don’t really believe much about IQ grading someone’s intelligence. I have found numerous academic studies disproving the IQ analysis. But Pen enjoys it, so it’s fine.” he was nervously scratching at the cut on his arm. Spencer gently put a hand over where he was scratching. Connor jerked his arm away and started crying again. “I’m sorry Spencer, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry,” he pulled his knees up close and held them to his chest so tight his knuckles turned white. He put his head into the space between his knees and his chest and rocked himself back and forth mumbling apologies, which turned into promises, which turned into pleas. Spencer knew what had happened. It was a flashback. 

“I’ll be good, I promise, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again! No! Don’t hurt me! Please don’t hurt me!” When everything went quiet Spencer thought Connor returned to the present, but he realised that Connor was still whimpering, and rocking, but his teeth were tightly clamped on his upper arm to keep from saying anything. 

“Connor!” Spencer said, trying to break the flashback. “Connor! You are safe, nothing’s going to hurt you, No one will ever touch you without permission again.” Connor relaxed slightly but still whimpered a bit. 

Spencer saw JJ coming down the stairs, she had heard Spencer’s call and come to help. She reached out a hand but Spencer put his hand over hers and shook his head. “Connor,” She said gently, “Everything is alright, can you open your mouth and release your arm?” he did so. “Good job,” She cooed. “You are doing so well. Can you raise your head for me now?” he shook his head.

“Why not?” Spencer asked 

“Lied,” Connor replied. 

“Who lied, Connor?” JJ asked in her mom voice,

“They said I would never go back to that place.” Connor said, and JJ and Spencer could both see tears falling from his eyes. 

JJ looked at Spencer and motioned to him. “He was originally held in a cellar, apparently, according to Hotch and Morgan. Held by meathooks from restraints on his wrists. They found him in a different location, but this looks enough like it that I could see why he would be scared.”

“Let’s get him out of here.” Spencer agreed. 

They kneeled back down by the cowering boy and JJ addressed the Omega “Connor, you aren’t in that place, but I know it feels like it, keep your eyes closed, Spencer and I will lead you out.”

“Walking?” He asked

“Of course,” Spencer said, “How else were we going to get you out of here?”

Connor mumbled something into his arms that Spencer could just barely hear but made him feel sick. “We are going to touch you now, is that ok?” JJ asked. Connor paused for a moment before slowly nodding his head. They each took a side and helped him stand upright. “Keep your eyes closed, ok sweetie?” JJ reminded him. Connor nodded, his head down. They walked over to the stairs and awkwardly walked up it, JJ first, Connor in the middle, and Spencer last. “Great job,” JJ praised as they reached the top, once they were all up the stairs and far enough away from the cellar door, Spencer nodded at JJ who took her cue. “Connor, can you lift your head for me now?” He lifted it gradually and as he felt the dry Utah heat he started to open his eyes. 

The breath he had been holding was released and he relaxed. Something seemed to pass in him then his eyes focused. He looked at JJ and Spencer. “JJ!” He said brightly, giving her a hug. “I didn’t see you earlier,” He released her “How are you?” Then he looked around, looking slightly confused. “When did we leave the Anomaly site? I have some more data to collect.” 

“Wait a moment,” Spencer said, “Why don’t we take a break and have some water.”

“Tea break?” Connor asked, “Sure, I’m always up for a tea break. I’m parched. Anyone hear if we catch the scorpion yet?” He asked as they made their way to the cars.”

“No, word.” JJ said, shooting a concerned look at Spencer. They were at their car, sitting in the back seat of two of them, talking across the gap. Connor grabbed his laptop to run some calculations. JJ turned to Spencer, and asked quietly, “what did he mutter when we asked about walking up the stairs?” She asked him “I couldn’t hear.”

“I don’t think you were supposed to,” He said softly, watching Connor working, he seemed distracted. Every few minutes he would look towards the desert, where Nick and Stephen had disappeared to. “He said that they would drag him up and down the stairs. By his restraints.” JJ winced.

“Is it normal to lose time during a flashback?” She asked. “He didn’t seem to remember anything about what had happened down there.” 

“It has been known to happen.” Spencer said. “It’s his mind’s way of protecting itself.”

“What is he looking for.” She asked, “He keeps looking to the desert”

“I don’t think Nick or Stephen have left him without at least one of them for this long since the incident.” Spencer said. “He complained about it before, but I think he is secretly happy.”

“Poor kid,” JJ said, “He’s about your age, right?” 

“I think so, a year or two difference.” Spencer said. “He is 23 or 24, I’m 26. I’m worried about him, JJ,” Spencer confessed. “He all but admitted he was going to try to commit suicide again. We have been talking twice a week for the past six months, but I had no idea anything was wrong. Garcia said the same thing, they have been trading messages and videos, chatting through text and messenger, and she didn’t know anything was wrong either. I mean, it’s understandable after a trauma like he experienced, and I don’t think it’s the first time he has experienced something like it, but still, why won’t he talk to anyone?”

“He was talking to you,” JJ pointed out, “down in the cellar. He was starting to talk to you, wasn’t he?” 

“Not much,” He said, “But yeah. He won’t talk about what happened, he was just telling me about his fears that Cutter and Hart would leave him.”

“They wouldn’t do that though,” JJ said with concern, “They were devastated when he disappeared.”

“ _We_ know that,” Spencer answered, “But something, or someone, convinced him that since this happened, he isn’t a worthy Omega for them anymore, and Alphas can drop an Omega at any time. If they want. It can be a paralysing fear for an Omega. They will do whatever it takes to keep their Alpha happy, resorting to the basest of needs and desires. Many Alphas take advantage of that.”

“Nick and Stephen would never do that,” JJ looked offended.

“I never said they would,” Reid said. “Asking if think they would hurt Connor is like asking if I think Aaron or Derek would ever hurt me, but I don’t think his self confidence has ever been great, according to Abby, not to mention an Omega is more susceptible to suggestion in Heat than they are at a normal time, and if an Alpha used their commanding voice, it’s just three ways to undermine his logical brain’s way of thinking. Sure, he may _know_ that they wouldn’t ever hurt or leave him, but through the power of suggestion, heightened double fold in Heat, He has been given every reason to think that they are just like the very Alphas that hurt him. He may even think that all Alphas want him like that. A Heat used against an Omega is a very dangerous tool.”

JJ looked shocked and angry. “A Heat with a mate is supposed to be wonderful isn’t it?”

“Once you have been mated for a while,” Spencer said, factually, “An Omega heat becomes a time where the omega succumbs wholly to their chosen mate or mates, no other alphas smell will affect them. However, if the connection is interrupted between the time in which the bond is given and completed, the Omega’s connection becomes confused and can often have trouble differentiating their alpha from others. Especially if it happens during a traumatic event. A bond takes about a month to fully secure, so it seems the unsubs were trying to disrupt the connection between the alphas and their omegas permanently.”

“But what good would be gained from this?” JJ asked. 

“Marked Omegas are easier to breed.” Spencer said with annoyance. “Complete connection or not. Once the mark is made, it tells an omega’s body that Breeding is a viable option. Marked Omegas are 82% more likely to become pregnant within the first two heats than non marked Omegas who also lie with Alphas. And if you recall, both of the dead victims had given birth before we found them.” 

JJ looked troubled as she watched Connor. He was going through his database now, although still looking over his shoulder at where Morgan, Stephen and Nick disappeared to. “We should see how the progress is going.” She said finally. Reid nodded and pulled out his phone to call Morgan. 

“What’s up, Pretty Boy?” Morgan answered as he picked up the phone. Spencer had put it on speaker phone.

“Hey Derek, just wondering how things were looking out there.” Spencer said casually, “You guys find anything?” 

“Something is definitely out here,” Morgan answered. “Trees and rocks look like they have been pushed up from the ground.” 

“Be careful, it isn’t what you are used to chasing,” Spencer said. 

“A giant subterranean prehistoric scorpion?” Morgan laughed “No shit.” 

“How’s Connor doing,” Hotch asked.

“He had a panic attack in the basement,” JJ started, 

“Is he ok?” Nick said instantly into the phone

“We were able to get him out of there, but he didn’t seem to remember what happened or how he left the cellar, and immediately wanted to go back down to keep working.” JJ continued. 

“We talked him out of it by saying we would take a break and hydrate.” Spencer added.

“Good,” Stephen said, sounding relieved.

“He is working on his computer now,” JJ reported, “But he keeps looking over his shoulder, towards where you and Nick disappeared.”

“He seems pretty nervous.” Spencer put in

“Neither of us have left him alone this long before, without being somewhere close by,” Stephen admitted. “Not since he got back.” 

“How long do you think before you are back?” JJ asked.

“Unsure,” Nick said, “We don’t even know how many there are, they don’t normally travel alone,” 

“Have you tried stamping your feet?” Connor asked, hearing their voices and coming over. “The scorpions are attracted to vibrations in the ground. You could lure it out, as long as you are careful and on guard.” 

“That’s true,” Stephen said, “It worked when we did it through the anomaly.” 

“But we already knew where the scorpions were then.” Nick pointed out.

“Do you know any other way to track them?” Stephen asked Connor. Connor went through his database. 

“They are carnivores, non venomous, with a thick exoskeleton,” he read off. “And live underground, measure from 6-10 m in length, and appear when they sense vibrations around them." He considered for a moment, "Exoskeletons shed at a rate of 3 cells every 5 days." He mused "You can track them that way. Not all that sand is probably sand.” 

“Brilliant, Connor,” Nick said, “Thank you!” 

Connor beamed. Spencer ruffled his head. Reid had thought he would have to put in some random piece of knowledge, but it seemed the kid had it covered. 

“Keep to rocky areas,” Connor continued, “They like to move through sand, they won’t like dirt or rocks, they will stay where the ground is pliable.” 

“I think I found something,” Stephen said, “Thanks Connor, see you later,” 

“Thanks guys,” Morgan said 

“Stay safe out there,” JJ said before the phone hung up.”

“Silurian Scorpions, huh?” Spencer said to Connor. “Those must be interesting.”

“Never saw ‘em meself” Connor said, going back over to the other SUV and opening his computer, “But Stephen and Nick went to rescue a kid that got trapped over there last year, scariest arthropods you ever seen, from what I’m told. Took out an entire crew of mercs.” He grinned. “Not that they didn’t deserve it, working for Helen.” 

There was a pause. Then Spencer looked at the younger genius, and asked the question for which he knew the answer. “Hey Connor, do you know what an ‘interrupted’ or ‘broken bond’ is?” Connor immediately stopped typing and his eyes stared straight ahead. He stiffly nodded his head. JJ climbed into the car next to him and placed a hand gently on his arm.

“Can you tell me?” Spencer prompted 

Connor took a deep breath and recited like he was reading from a textbook. “An interrupted bond is when an Omega lays with an Alpha that is not his or her mate either sexually or platonically in the 30 days within the initial mating mark and the time it takes for the bond to complete. The longer the Omega is separated from their mated Alpha or the more the traumatic experience of the separation the more likely the Interrupted bond will turn into a ‘broken’ bond. When an Omega has an interrupted bond, they will be unable to have the same connection with their Mated Alphas than a normal mated pair, when a broken bond is formed, they will be unable to differentiate between their mated Alphas and any others of that sex and often have their omega side take over.” 

“That’s right,” Spencer said gently. “But an interrupted bond can be repaired, can’t it?” Connor nodded “have you tried?” He shook his head. 

“Won’t work,” he mumbled

“Why not?” JJ asked

“An interrupted bond has a 90% chance of being repaired when there is minimal interference in the mates, the odds decrease dramatically the longer the mates are away from one another and how sexual and traumatic the separation is. How soon after the initial mating bite is also a key factor. An Interrupted bond where the Omega has a traumatic or sexual interruption has a 52% chance of being repaired when the mated Alpha knots the interrupted omega during the mating ritual if they can mate and knot immediately once they reunite, again, the chances of a successful bond repair decreases the longer the mates wait to have coitus. If knotted during initial mating, if an outsider knots the Omega the bond is still highly likely to be repaired. A broken bond has a 2% chance of repair. It is unlikely that any bond can be repaired after 1 year of being interrupted.” Connor continued as if he was reading a textbook, but tears ran down his face, “If knotting didn’t happen during the ritual by the mated Alphas then it can be repaired if the omega stays unknotted, even if another Alpha has forced coitus upon them, when they return to their Alphas by then having their Mated Alphas knot them.”

“Oh, Connor!” JJ cried softly, going to hug him but stopping when she saw him shrink back and put his computer up as a barrier between them. JJ and Spencer looked at each other both highly troubled. Being knotted was an extremely intimate act done between an Omega and their mate. It was a violation of the deepest sort for an Alpha to knot an Omega they weren’t mated to. Stephen and Nick had admitted that they were waiting for Connor’s consent to knot him. Most Alpha’s try to make knotting their Omegas as easy for them as possible, because even with a loved one it can hurt greatly. When it came to Spencer’s first knotting with Aaron and Derek, they had already had the bond for almost a year, and they had waited for him to ask while out of subspace. Aaron had made it incredibly easy for him, Spencer remembered, after the initial knotting they had spooned while Derek continued to pamper his front. The lingering kisses and caresses made it quite an enjoyable experience. But Spencer also knew that with the wrong partners a first knotting could be hellish. It was no surprise that Connor was such a wreck. A forced knotting interrupting an Omega mating bond, after kidnap from your own home, your own bed, must do a number on him. 

“Have you told Stephen or Nick?” Spencer asked, guessing the answer. Connor shook his head. “What about the interrupted bond?” Connor shook his head again. Spencer sighed. “They are your mates, Connor. They love you. You need to talk to them.” Connor turned petrified eyes to Spencer then he opened the opposite door to the SUV, and ran into the house, leaving his computer behind. 

“Connor!” JJ cried after him. The BAU agents looked at each other, then got out of the cars they were in as quickly as they could and followed the Omega into the house. 

“Connor!” Spencer called, checking the rooms, JJ did the same. They were all empty. 

“You don’t think he went back down, do you?” JJ asked with apprehension. 

“Wouldn’t hurt to check,”

They softly tread down the steps to the cellar, looking into the corners of the room. “Spence,” JJ said tapping his arm, he looked at her. She pointed to the center of the room where the previously small dense ball of light was once more a large plane of broken glass radiating life from within. 

The Anomaly was open. Connor was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anything isn't clear, please let me know. I will rewrite.
> 
> Please give Kudos and Comments, they give me cause to go on


	3. A Helping Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor is brought back, Reid sheds insight into his trauma, and how to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW; Discussion of past events
> 
> This series takes place in Primeval late season 3. dunno if i mentioned that
> 
> But yeah, Danny is part of the group. I like Danny. :D -he will be coming later! promise

“Spence,” JJ started,

“I know,” He said, pulling out his phone. “Morgan? Listen, we have a problem over here… what? Yeah, JJ and I are fine. It’s Connor, he got upset and ran through the Anomaly. Of course, we weren’t planning on going after him, I think we dug more than we should have. We need to talk to Stephen and Nick when they get back here, I think I know what’s been bothering him.” He hung up. “It seems that they found and killed the Scorpion not too long ago, and they were on their way back, Stephen and Nick heard and are running as quickly as possible. They said to call Emily and ask for Becker. 

“I’ll call her.” JJ said. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number. A ringing came from upstairs and they ran towards the noise. Emily, Abby, Becker, and Rossi were approaching the car, talking and laughing about one thing or another. Emily pulled out her phone, saw who was calling, then saw JJ. 

“Whats up JJ?” The four newcomers took in the panicked looks on their faces. “What happened?” She looked around. “Where’s Connor?” 

“He went through the Anomaly,” Spencer said, without hesitation. “He got spooked by our conversation.”

“He did WHAT!?” Becker ran to the truck and grabbed a backpack shoved something metal in it, grabbed the gun from Abby, added it to the shoulder carrying the harpoon and sped down the stairs. 

Abby however turned to Spencer, “What did you ask him?” She accused as soon as Becker had left. 

“Calm down Abby,” JJ said, putting a hand on her shoulder, “Spencer is the closest any of us will get to knowing how he is feeling. Apart from the abuse, he knows the ins and outs of being an Omega, I think Spencer just thought that Connor needed that.”

Spencer didn’t look affronted. “Do you know what an Interrupted Bond is?” He asked the three of them. Emily and Dave nodded, having seen it often enough in their work. “I don’t think I realised it then, but the kidnapper back then was purposely creating interrupted bonds. It’s why he is having a hard time reconnecting with Cutter and Hart. The close timing to the marking, and the trauma plus the delay in trying to repair it mean that it is well on its way to being a broken bond.” 

Rossi looked troubled. “Interrupted bonds can be fixed. But broken ones cannot?” He asked. 

“A broken bond has a 2% chance of being repaired. But depending on the circumstances of the interruption an interrupted bond has somewhere between a 30-90% chance of being repaired. Circumstances include, trauma, sexual intercourse with a non mated alpha, platonically laying near a non mated alpha for an extended time, knotted by a non mated alpha, or simply just an extended period away from mated alphas.” As Spencer talked Nick and Stephen ran over, out of breath. “Becker already went after him. Although,” Spencer thought for a moment, “having three Alphas going after him when he is in this state doesn’t necessarily seem like the best idea.”

“We are his mates.” Stephen and Nick huffed at the same time.

“Yes,” Spencer said, “but with your bond condition it could do more harm than good at the moment.” 

“What does that mean?” Nick said angrily

“From what I understand,” Spencer explained as Morgan and Hotch joined the party, “Connor seems to be perfectly aware of the interruption of your bonding.”

They looked at each other. “Interruption in bonding?”

Morgan came over and placed a hand on Spencer’s shoulder. “Spence,” he said, “Not all Alphas know about the Omega said of Mate Bonding.” 

Spencer sighed and rolled his eyes. “A bond actually takes roughly thirty days to fully form.” Nick, Stephen and Abby looked slightly surprised. “From the moment the Mark is formed, it creates a need to keep their Omega safe and close at all times, after about 30 days are over, the scent of their Omega is recognisable only to them, and visa versa. This is why newly mated alphas tend to be highly territorial for the first few weeks. Once they are sure no one else will be able to smell their Omega, they will be able to relax and let their Omega spend the night somewhere else, or even travel without them. The Omega in turn feels safer and more secure when the only Alpha who can scent their Heat is the one they chose. If, however, the Omega is taken from their Alpha, or Alphas, within that 30 days, the bond is interrupted. The Omega will feel nervous and skittish. It will be hard for them to relax around other Alphas, being unable to know who to trust, and not able to recognise their own mates scent’s instinctually. If the bond is not fixed within a year, it will be impossible to repair, although repair attempts closer to the reunion has a greater likelihood of success.”

Nick and Stephen had a mixture of hope and despair on their faces.

“That actually makes a lot of sense as to why Connor has been having such a hard time with you guys,” Abby said thoughtfully. “You said he knew this, yeah? Why wouldn’t he say anything?”

Spencer looked slightly uncomfortable. “For a repair to work depends on how soon after the mating was done and what happened when the bond was interrupted.” He said. “There can be a high probability of success under the right circumstances. I don’t know if this could be one of them.” Spencer sighed as everyone looked at him, JJ prompting him with an elbow. “An interrupted bond has a 90% chance of being repaired when there is minimal interference in the mates, the odds increase dramatically the longer the mates are away from one another and how sexual and traumatic the separation is. How soon after the initial mating bite is also a key factor. An Interrupted bond where the Omega has a traumatic or sexual interruption has a 52% chance of being repaired when the mated Alpha knots the interrupted omega during the mating ritual if they can mate and knot immediately once they reunite, again, the chances of a successful bond repair decreases the longer the mates wait to have coitus. If knotted during initial mating, if an outsider knots the Omega the bond is still highly likely to be repaired. A broken bond has a 2% chance of repair. It is unlikely that any bond can be repaired after 1 year of being interrupted,” Spencer recited word for word what Connor had said earlier. “If knotting didn’t happen during the ritual by the mated Alphas then it can be repaired if the omega stays unknotted, even if another Alpha has forced coitus upon them, when they return to their Alphas by then having their Mated Alphas knot them.”

“What are you saying?” Abby asked cautiously after a long pause.

“One of the sodding bastards knotted our mate,” The scottish professor growled looking murderous. Stephen put a hand on his shoulder, looking equally furious, but stared at the house. 

“Let’s go get him,” He said to the man, “Then we can discuss how to fix this.” Nick nodded and the two of them took off towards the house. 

Hotch came and stood on Spencer’s other side, putting a hand around his waist. “Are you alright?” He asked the Omega. 

“I don’t know,” Spencer confessed. “I hate seeing Connor so broken and traumatised. He is too young to go through something like this. I just keep putting myself in his place, thinking about what I would feel like in his position.”

“Hey,” Morgan said, rubbing his back, “You are his friend, it’s ok to empathise with him. Part of being good at our job is being able to think like them. But you don’t need to suffer with him, just try to help him.”

“You should have seen him flashback earlier in the cellar, he had no idea where we were. We led him out with his eyes closed because he was so terrified.” JJ said. “It was pretty gut wrenching.”

“He had a nightmare like that on the plane on the way over.” Abby said. “I don’t think he is sleeping very much.”

“Stephen said he has made a nest, which has helped.” Morgan put in. 

“He’s nesting?” Spencer asked quickly. They all looked at him. “Omegas don’t normally nest unless they are on their heat, and sometimes even then they don’t if they feel safe and secure enough where they are. If he’s nesting it means that his anxiety is getting worse and he doesn’t feel safe. Nests are about safety, creating your own space when you don’t feel comfortable or secure where you are. If he is sleeping there at night when he is not in heat, he is starting to lose faith that his alphas can keep him safe. Their bond is at the point of breaking. An Omega with a broken bond has a high likelihood that they could lose their base logic and will start to rely solely on instinct.” He bit his lip. “We need to find a way to repair their bond.”

“How do you know so much about this?” Abby asked curiously

“One of my masters degrees is in Psychology of Trauma Victims relating Specifically to Omegas.” Spencer said with a shrug

Twenty minutes later the four men emerged from the house, Nick carrying a crying Connor bridal style, Stephen was next to them, Becker behind. 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to, I’m sorry, please stay with me, I’m sorry!” Was all Connor said over and over. Stephen walked beside them, soothing Connor, stroking his cheek and cooing softly. 

“It’s ok baby, We aren’t mad, it’s ok, Omega. We weren’t mad, we still love you, it’s ok,” It was clear the Omega was deep in subspace and Stephen and Nick were trying to get him out. They nodded at the group by the SUVs and headed to the Jeeps, Stephen opened the car door and Nick put Connor on the passenger seat. Becker threw the guns into the back and walked over to the group of agents and Abby, letting the Alphas try to soothe their Omega out of subspace in peace. They were both kneeling in front of the boy as he wrapped his arms around Nick, sobbing. 

  
“What’s going on?” Hotch asked 

“I have no idea,” Becker said shaking his head, “But when I found him he was perched on a cliff like he was going to jump, As soon as Nick and Stephen arrived he burst into tears and just started saying, ‘they made me, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to.’ Couldn’t have been about running into the Anomaly though, or nearly jumping off that cliff. We locked it when we came back through though.”

The group looked oddly at each other. 

“What?” Becker asked, “Did I miss something?”

“Connor basically told me that he was knotted against his will when he was kidnapped.” Spencer said. “We think that’s why he has been in such a state.”

Becker looked furious. “Are you fucking joking?” He asked, “Connor?” He slammed his fist into the doorframe of the house. “I will fucking kill those bloody bastards if I ever see them,”

“Honestly, I am surprised he has kept it together for so long.” Abby said. “Considering everything… even a facade is pretty impressive.”

“But he needs to let someone in to be able to properly heal.” Prentiss reminded her. 

Nick and Stephen joined them a moment later. “He cried himself to sleep.” Nick informed everyone. They looked back and saw Connor’s still form, curled against the backrest of the Jeep.”

“Listen,” Spencer turned to the Alphas who just returned, “If Connor is nesting in the house outside of his heat, it isn’t a good thing.”

The two looked alarmed. “He had taken the sheet off our bed, so we thought he was starting to get used to our smell again.” Nick said, tentatively. 

Spencer shook his head. “He is trying to cling to the last vestiges of his bond with you. Omegas nest when they are anxious or feel unsafe, and often when they are in heat.” He tried to explain. “Many Omegas won’t nest in heat if they feel supported enough by their mates, for instance, I don’t anymore.” Hotch and Morgan tried not to preen. “After a trauma, it is not uncommon for an Omega without a mate to nest, but when it is an interrupted bond, the best thing to do to help the Omega is to complete the bond. The longer the Omega goes without the bond being completed the higher the chances it will be of it becoming a broken bond.” 

“You mentioned that earlier,” Nick said, “But what does that have to do with Connor nesting?” 

“An Omega with a broken bond starts to revert to their base instinct more and retreats further into subspace.” Spencer tried to explain. “Eventually it will become nearly impossible to pull him out, and he won’t be the intelligent Connor you fell in love with, he will just be an Omega that exists for any Alpha’s pleasure. And I do mean  _ any _ Alpha. The bond at that point will have completely disintegrated, he wouldn’t be able to tell you apart from Emily.” He gestured from Nick to Prentiss. “Once you repair the bond, he should go back to normal, still slightly traumatised, but he will be able to take your word over all other Alphas again.” 

Stephen and Nick looked worried. “How are we supposed to do that if he won’t let us touch him?” Stephen asked

“Connor is smart and logical. He knows what has happened, and what is happening with his Omega side.” Spencer replied, “Talk to him about it. He probably has an instinctual answer for what he needs. He said he thought it couldn’t be repaired, but he probably feels something else. You need to be patient and coax it out of him. Make sure he isn’t in Subspace when you are doing so.” 

“How long do you think he has?” Abby asked, looking at Connor, who was still asleep in the passenger’s seat. 

“A week, maybe two.” Spencer said carefully. “I know it is a hard thing to hear, but it is going to be ok, you just need to talk to him.”

Nick and Stephen looked at each other, then nodded. Nick looked at Connor for a moment, then he turned to Hotch. 

“The locker downstairs should keep anything getting out and keep people from wandering through. We can’t do anything about those that went through recently, unfortunately, they wouldn’t last more than a day or two, the Silurian Era has far less oxygen than we do, they would die of oxygen starvation within days, even if they did manage to survive the scorpions.” Cutter was all business again. 

“This seems to be a recurring Anomaly, according to Garcia, who has found disappearances regularly for the past twenty years. I bet if you look back further, it would go back for hundreds. I would permanently corden off this house, and maybe redo the cement foundation that this house is placed on.” He winked, “You know, do you really need a cellar in Utah anyway?” He grinned. “That way, if it opens again, nothing will be able to get in and nothing will be able to get out.” Hotch nodded stiffly. “We will leave the locker for you, once you are done getting this secured, keep it, just in case you find yourself in trouble again. I will warn you though, every Anomaly is different and they all are set to a different frequency. But you have your own genius who can figure that out for you.” He patted Reid on the shoulder. “Thanks for the help, Mate,” He said to the Omega Agent, softly. 

“If any critters come surfacing again, just let us know, but I think we got them all.” He continued. “We got one, and you guys got one, Right Abby, Becker?” They nodded. 

“We should probably do a sweep though, to be sure,” Connor said, making everyone jump. No one had heard him wake up or join them. “If they have been here for a while they could have bred and there may be hundreds of them living in tunnels down there.”

Abby looked nervous. “He’s right.” she said to Cutter, “Our climate is enough like theirs that they could have adapted within a few generations, and this area is perfect for their needs.”    
  
“Could you make something to scan for the exoskeleton?” Stephen asked Connor. 

“Sure,” He replied simply, “I don’t have the equipment with me though.”

Hotch tossed him his phone, “Call Garcia, tell her what you need and tell her to ship it overnight. I’m guessing you can find it easier in DC than Monument Valley.”

Connor grinned at the BAU team leader. “Brilliant!” he said, then he ran off. 

“Seems like you guys will be staying a few days,” Morgan said to Stephen and Cutter, “Will that be ok with Lester?”

“I will probably go home with Abby and Connor home once he is done with the device,” Cutter said, “Leave Stephen and Becker to do the Animal wrangling.” Stephen rolled his eyes, but knew that would happen. “They don’t need us for that anyway,”

“Better get Connor out of harms way or else he will get himself hurt doing something stupidly noble,” Becker agreed. 

“I think there are a few more rooms at our motel,” Hotch said, “We will take you over there,”

“What about your case?” Abby asked in concern

“Seems to be solved, doesn’t it?” JJ answered with a grin. “Not sure how we will relay  _ that _ ” She nodded to the house with the anomaly in it, “to the local authorities though, buuut we will figure something out at the hotel.” 

“You should say it was a ghost!” Abby said with glee. Stephen snorted. “Better than what Connor would suggest,” She defended herself

“What would he say?” Prentiss asked curiously

“Aliens,” Cutter, Stephen, and Abby said seriously. 

“His original dissertation was about how the anomalies in the evolutionary chain were caused by alien interference.” Cutter chortled. 

“Did you see how thick it was?” Stephen asked,

“The writing was actually incredibly intelligent.” Cutter agreed.

“To be fair, we have found out that it is caused by alien interference,” Abby reasoned “just not outer space aliens, but out-of-time aliens”

“Often, us,” Becker confirmed.

“Or Helen,” Stephen said, nodding. 

“Considering Danny did leave a Copter in the Cretaceous,” Abby snorted, “I’m guessing that may make a few paleontologists quite confused about the evolutionary chain.” 

“Who let him fly that thing again?” Cutter asked. 

“Who  _ lets _ Danny do anything?” Becker said, rolling his eyes. 

“It did save Connor.” Abby put in

“Seeing a G-Rex trip and fall on its face was by far the funniest thing I had ever seen,” Becker laughed. 

“You guys have way more fun at your job than we do at ours.” Morgan said, as they listened to the group banter. 

“Seriously though?” Spencer asked “A Giganotosaurus?” 

“At a private airstrip.” Abby concurred. “Terrifying. Jenny, Becker, and some Civvies got trapped in the belly of a plane, Connor tried to lead the thing away with a baggage lorry and it kept knocking the carts off the back. So he stopped dead and it tripped right over him. Landed flat on its face. The chase gave me time to come in with my car and grab everyone though. Danny distracted the thing with a Helicopter as we stopped for Connor, and he flew it straight back through the anomaly. Was able to get back before we locked it again though.”   


“First time we took the locker out for a spin, so glad it worked, was not interested in meeting the herd of angry G-rexes following behind Quinn.” Becker said seriously. 

“Can you believe that reporter just walked right in there with that camera?” Stephen asked, still nonplussed. 

“Fucking twat,” Cutter replied. “Killed herself for a story.” 

“We tried to stop her,” Abby said to the agents, who had a mixture of looks on their faces ranging from anger to disgust.

“Some reporter who wanted to make it big stole Jenny’s communicator and beat us to the airstrip with a full camera crew. Danny ended up rescuing Jenny and Connor from a shipping container the reporters locked them in just so they could have the story.” Abby went on to explain.

“They had no idea what they were messing with,” Becker said, slightly sadly

“By the time we got there, the G-Rex had come out, only two of them were left, and their car was flipped.” Cutter continued. 

“Jenny secured them in an office so they wouldn’t come to any more harm,” Abby added. “We couldn’t think about them when we had something larger and more vicious than a T-Rex roaming around.”

“Somehow they got out, one of them had the sense to run away, the other decided to film the Dino backwards as it chased Danny back through the anomaly.” Stephen said as he put his head in his hand. “Last we saw of her.”

“Some people don’t seem to have the right reaction when it comes to danger,” JJ concluded.

“Of course,” Morgan supported, “Law enforcement officials, Soldiers, I’m guessing you guys at the ARC, when you hear someone scream you run towards it, not from, and yeah, a lot of journalists are like that. But when you find out you it’s beyond your power to do anything, you wait for backup, or ask someone else. There is a difference between getting yourself killed just because you want a story and running into danger so you can help someone.

“It’s true.” Becker agreed. “I never thought I would be well equipped to handle creatures from other times, but now that I can, I feel more prepared. I would never walk into a hostage situation and try to talk them down though.” 

“Nah,” Connor teased with a smile, making everyone jump again. “You are not nearly warm and cuddly enough for that.” 

“Seriously Connor,” Becker released his hand from his weapon, where it had instinctually gone. “You gotta stop sneaking up on people like that.” 

“I’ve been standing here for the last 2 minutes and 35 seconds.” He said, “Not my fault if no one noticed.” He turned to JJ, “You should say they got lost in the desert and unfortunately died because of the freak sand storms that happen every few years due to the changing wind currents as the seasons change. More believable than ‘Ghosts’ Abby,” he winked at his former flatmate. He handed the phone back to Hotch, “Pen asked if she could come and help, I told her it wasn’t up to me. So she is expecting your answer.”

Hotch took the phone. “Do you need help?” He asked 

“No,” Connor replied, “It’s simple enough as long as I have some of the exoskeleton it is going to be scanning for, but she is awesome and I miss her. She definitely wouldn’t slow me down.” He grinned. 

“Hey Kid,” Morgan called, as Connor headed to the truck, “How much of that exoskeleton do you need?” 

“A few scales about 1-2 cm each,” He said, “Why?” Connor looked at Stephen. “You collected it didn’t you?”

“Who do you think I am?” He asked in mock offense. He pulled out a phial that was half full of silvery slivers. 

“This is plenty.” Connor said, “I didn’t ask because I knew Stephen would already take samples.”

“It’s what I do,” Stephen said, taking off Connor’s hat and ruffling his hair.

“Microbiologist,” Connor said, as if it was an insult, grabbing his hat back and putting it back on his head

“Is there a single classification for what you are?” Stephen asked then shrugged and just said fondly, “nerd,” tapping the top of Connor’s hat lightly with a closed fist.

“Let’s head back to town and get something to eat.” Morgan supplied, “Everyone must be starving.”

The ten of them went into town and found somewhere for dinner. It was an enjoyable evening for both teams, The BAU could relax and not have to worry about the case they were on, and the ARC felt like they were on Holiday. There were only two rooms left, one with two single beds, and one with a double. Becker and Abby took the one with two beds, and Connor, Stephen and Cutter took the one with the double. 

When they were safely cloistered away in their room Stephen and Nick decided it might be a good time to broach the subject. “Hey Conn,” Stephen asked lightly, “Why didn’t you mention to us what an interrupted bond was?” Connor was sitting at the edge of the bed, towards the wall with his back to them. He just shrugged. 

“Conn,” Nick sat next to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. Connor flinched “Conn, You know we aren’t mad, right?” Connor turned and looked at Nick and Stephen with desperation. 

“I think it’s almost gone,” He whispered, with tears in his eyes. 

“What can we do?” Stephen asked, coming around to the other side and sitting next to him. 

“I don’t think there is anything to do,” Connor said, “I’m broken, he knotted me before you.”

“Sweetheart,” Nick crooned gently, pulling the boy to his chest, “You aren’t broken, our bond isn’t broken, not yet, which means it can still be repaired.” 

“Reid said you would know how,” Stephen said rubbing his back. “You just need to go with your instincts, while you are out of subspace.” 

“What do you feel is missing?” Nick asked

“Knot.” Connor said immediately. He looked up at Nick’s surprised face, and placed a hand on his chest, “Knot me, Please, Nick? Now.” He looked at Stephen. “Stephen, you too.”

Stephen and Nick looked at each other. Then they looked at Connor. They knew wasn’t in subspace because he used their names. “Darling, can you wait until we get home?” Stephen asked sweetly. “I don’t want to share any of your beautiful sounds with anyone else. And the walls are very thin.”

“They will hear him one way or another,” Nick pointed out, “Which would you prefer? Screaming from nightmares? Or purring from ecstasy?”

Stephen thought about it. “Do you think you can sleep with us tonight?” He asked Connor. Connor eyed the bed, then looked at them. Then he nodded. 

“Can we just… a little?” He asked with longing in his voice. “I should be ok if I start.” Nick smiled, then looked up at the other Alpha, who was also smiling. 

He opened his arms, “Whatever you want, love.”

Connor kissed him greedily. As he begged for entrance with his tongue, Nick’s mouth immediately granted it, and he explored the mouth that he had missed so much. “Nick,” he breathed. “I’ve missed you…” He kissed down Nick’s neck and up his stomach, removing his shirt as he went. He met Nicks mouth again and ran his hands through the man’s sandy blond hair. He placed sweet gentle kisses all over his face, tracing his jawbone and moving across his collarbone. He fondled the enlarging package in the man’s trousers through the cloth eliciting a soft moan from him. 

Abruptly he stopped, turned, and captured Stephen’s lips in an equally desperate kiss, which was returned. Again, when he ran his tongue across Stephen’s lips he was granted immediate access. He explored Stephen’s mouth as if it was his first time, memorising every nook and cranny, entwining his tongue with Stephens. He pulled Stephen’s shirt up to his head without releasing his lips, then with reluctance let go to tug the shirt free. He traced the younger alpha’s collarbone with light fingertips as he kissed his neck “I’ve missed you…” he whispered in Stephen’s ear as well. Because it was true. He had missed them both. Their touch, their feel, just being around them. He hated how nervous and edgy he had been the last few months, but he couldn’t help it. He ran his hand down Stephen’s chest and to his belt, unbuckling it with ease. His light fingers ran over the hardened member under the cloth and Connor heard Stephen growl an unmistakable word. “Connor….” he smiled. He turned slightly so he was facing both Nick and Stephen, and unbuckled Nick’s trousers as well. 

He could feel his own cock straining in his pants, but he ignored it for now. Tonight was just for some kisses and gentle petting. He pushed lightly on both of their chests and they let themselves fall back on the bed, happy to let their Omega take the lead. He leaned down and whispered between their ears “Trousers, Off,” they hurried to comply. “Pants too.” 

Connor leaned over and wrapped his mouth around Nick, while he ran a hand down Stephen’s shaft. He bobbed his head, taking in the thick girth of his Alpha up to the hilt and heard “Coonnnor…” He looked up at the two who were staring at him, from the bed. “You can pleasure each other too, you know.” Connor said, matter-of-factly, then he switched, his mouth on Stephen’s cock and his hand gripping Nick’s. He ran a hand down Nick’s erection as he lapped at Stephen’s pre-cum, sucking greedily on the length he held in his mouth. He could feel his bond slowly strengthening as he made love with his partners. He quickly shed his clothing and joined them on the bed. 

“It’s helping,” he confessed, “Please, I’m not afraid anymore, as long as it’s not from behind and I don’t close my eyes.” Stephen smiled gently

“Of course, our beautiful Omega,” He preened, getting up and leaning over to kiss Connor on the temple. 

“Come here,” Nick moved closer and they turned him so they were in the center of the bed. “We will stick to just petting tonight.” Nick and Stephen started to kiss Connor the way that he had kissed them, the kisses full of love and adoration. They traced his body with gentle fingers and soft lips, kissing his scars sweetly and taking turns capturing his lips over and over. Nick was first to reach Connor’s straining erection and start licking at the fluids that were leaking, he gently wrapped his lips around the boy’s stiff member and felt Connor buck in ecstasy. Stephen rubbed at the Omega’s sensitive chest and heard a gasp of pleasure. The northern lad ran his hands through the hair of his mates silently begging for their attention further up. The older men lay on their sides pushing their own lengths against the Omega’s. 

“Beautiful,” purred Nick in his ear. Heat from the professor’s voice shot a pleasure through the boy’s spine, 

“Brilliant,” Stephen cooed in the other, as the trio stroked their painfully hard and sensitive manhoods together. Connor whimpered as the intense reaction sang through his body. He gripped at their backs, one hand on each as he grew closer to orgasm. 

“Amazing,” Nick continued the praise, enjoying the effect it was having on his younger love.

“Adorable,” Stephen added as he peppered kisses down Connor’s chest and up his neck.

“Mate,” They both whispered at the same time as they simultaneously pulled him up, so one of his knees was resting on each of theirs, and bit down on their original mating bites. The words, bite and friction in front combined pushed Connor over the edge and his world turned white. Ribbons of thick fluids streamed from his small body as he came down from his high. Stephen and Nick smiled at Connor and each other as they carefully laid him back down on the bed, their own erections still hard and painful. The tech slipped into a light dose immediately, so Stephen took Nick by the hand and led him to the bathroom. Stephen turned on the shower and instantly found himself being pushed against the tile wall by the Scottish Professor and kissed intensely, 

“Stephen,” He grumbled with a smirk, “Need a little help there?” He asked, looking at his lab techs still firm member. 

Stephen kissed back forcefully as the lengths met again, now wet under a hot steaming shower. The Alpha’s fought for dominance over the kiss, Stephen eventually letting Nick win, like always, and they joined their hands around their rubbing cocks. Their bodies kept trying to get closer as their hips thrust and bucked themselves into their hands creating mind bending pleasure. Stephen could feel himself grow close, and he could see in Nick’s furrowed brow and tensing shoulders that he had almost hit his release also. He rested his head on Nick’s shoulder as they sped up the pace. “Nick!” He gasped and heard the other man groan his name in reply. With an almighty buck, they both came in one hit. They both sagged in release and went on to clean themselves up. Stephen took a wet washcloth and went back to the bedroom to clean their mate. Nick cleaned up the cum that went flying across the room.

“Do you think he jerked off at all since he has gotten back?” Nick asked in wonder.

“He has had a heat since then, so you would think.” Stephen replied, also quite curious.

“He just seemed incredibly pent up.” 

“Maybe not since his last heat?”

“Wasn’t that like, 3 months ago? He is due soon.”

“No wonder,” Stephen found Connor’s boxers and slipped them on him, then he and Nick got into bed with their happy omega who immediately cuddled close to Nick and pulled Stephen closer from behind. They smiled at each other over their contented mate. It had hurt them too to see Connor so distant and fragile. 

Connor woke up briefly to kiss them both “Thank you both,” he said sleepily. “I love you” and he snuggled into Nick’s chest feeling truly safe for the first time in six months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, i am terrible at writing smut. :/  
> It's not a forte.
> 
> Please leave Kudos and Comments, much appreciated


	4. Garcia helps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garcia arrives and Connor is sassy. They make a thing.

When they awoke the next morning Connor was cuddled up on Stephen’s chest and purring. He had two nightmares during the night, the first his two sleeping partners were quickly able to ease him out of, the second took a little longer and brought the FBI running… Thankfully when they saw it was Connor shouting in the corner of the room, still asleep, and Stephen who was trying to calm him down when Nick opened the door, Emily, JJ, Dave, Derek, Spencer and Aaron, were fairly understanding and put away their firearms. Becker and Abby were there too, but they recognised the sound instantly as Connor. Spencer even came in and tried to help, so did JJ, it seemed a difficult nightmare to get out of though. Finally Hotch came to the rescue. 

“Connor,” Hotch spoke with the authority of an Alpha pack leader. Connor trembled, tears running down his face, and tried to hide further in the corner. “Connor, open your eyes.” He shook his head frantically. “Now, Connor,” very slowly his eyes opened and he stared sightless, in the distance. “Look at me.” Hotch knelt down in front of the terrified boy. Connor looked up just as slowly. Then he blinked. 

“Agent Hotchner?” He said, slightly confused. “Spencer? JJ? Stephen?” He looked around and saw everyone. Then he blushed and buried his head in his knees from embarrassment. “Sorry.”

Hotch put a hand on his and said quietly, “Connor, after something like what you went through, nightmares are only natural.” Spencer and JJ nodded. 

“It would probably be more worrying if you weren’t affected by it,” Spencer added. 

Connor looked at Spencer, “How do you deal with nightmares?” He asked, genuinely curious. 

“Have you learned lucid dreaming yet?” he said after thinking a moment. “I have found that sometimes works. Otherwise, they help.” He pointed to Hotch and Morgan, who waved. 

“Rely on your Mates more. It’s more than just the pleasure, they can help bear your burdens, just as you do theirs.” 

“You help Hotch and Morgan? But they’re Alphas.”

Hotch smiled and Morgan came over. Nick came over to sit with Stephen. JJ got up, “I’m gonna let you guys talk this out. Good night.”

“Night Jayj,” Spencer called to her as she left. 

“Kid, a true partnership, isn’t about gender, first or secondary.” Morgan began. “We are there for each other, no matter what.”

“You have been there for me even before we became partners, Connor,” Stephen pointed out. “When I was dealing with Helen, before I knew you were an Omega.”

“But that was because you needed someone, and you are my friend,” Connor tried to explain

“Exactly,” Spencer said. “We are friends and lovers, we help each other. Your problem is that you don’t let  _ anybody _ help you. From what I understand, you share as much with your mates as with Abby, your best friend. Which is nothing.” Connor blushed. 

“That’s right, why did we have to find out that you were placed in foster care at the age of 10 by asking Garcia to look it up in the Home Office records after you were kidnapped?” Nick asked. 

“You know about that?” Connor asked in despair.

“How do you think we found you, Kid?” Morgan asked. 

“That’s true… that house was my personal heaven  _ and _ hell for almost two years…” Connor didn’t go on. They waited. “What?” he asked, seeing them looking at him. “I don’t think about that part of my life anymore. Bad memories, ok? Ones I’m trying really hard to forget. I don’t need anyone pitying me. I got out.” He said defiantly. 

“We won’t pity you for things you have survived, they have made you a stronger person, but that’s the point, with them, you don’t always have to be strong. It’s ok to have a weak side.” Spencer explained. “I know it’s uncomfortable to hear as an Omega, our instinct is to never be weak in front of Alphas, but  _ they _ ” he gestured to Nick and Stephen, “Don’t count, for you anyway. You are allowed to look weak in front of them. Just like I am allowed to look weak in front of  _ them, _ ” he gestured to Aaron and Derek. “And I have, and they have helped me through it, in our own home, privately, but together.” 

“Listen to the Pretty Boy,” Morgan said with a grin. “He’s pretty smart.” 

“Don’t knock the kid, Der,” Spencer smiled at Connor, “He’s pretty smart too. It takes practice being yourself, and you have had a tough go, I get it.” 

Connor looked up and smiled shyly. “Thanks Spencer,” then he nodded at Hotch and Morgan, “Thanks Hotch, Morgan,” 

As the three got up and walked out of the room they heard Morgan ask, “You let the kid call you by your name?” and then the door closed. 

“Come on, Conn, let’s go back to bed,” Stephen said, holding out his hand. “We can talk more about this tomorrow.” Connor nodded, but didn’t move

“Do you want to know about that house?” He asked quietly. 

“We want to know anything you want to tell us.” Nick said gently. “But nothing you don’t, and not right now, let’s go to sleep.” Connor flashed his dimpled grin and held out his hand so Stephen could pull him to his feet and lead him back to the bed. The blankets had trailed across the room from the foot of the bed to the corner where Connor ended up. Nick pulled them back up and tucked his little Omega under the covers before he and Stephen slipped in next to him. The next morning they awoke to find Connor snuggled up to Stephen’s chest sleeping soundly. 

* * *

“LeTEMPLE!” a pounding knock and a shout made Connor sit up like a bullet, Nick and Stephen, who had been watching him for the past few minutes jumped back in surprise. 

“Hey Baby Girl!” Said a familiar deep voice in the hallway. 

“Hello Dark Chocolate!” the female voice said with sultry undertones, “Can I get this to go?”

“Only if you’re willing to share,” said another higher voice with a laugh. Connor was hurrying into his trousers and top and rushing to the door. 

“Junior G-Man, Boss man!” she said in greeting. 

“Queenie!” Connor said, running to the new arrival. 

“My Junior Genius!” She said, giving him a big hug, “I’ve missed you!”

“I know!” He said, “Me too! It’s been exactly 12 hours and 10 minutes since I last hacked you!.” 

“You guys hack each other?” Hotch asked “For fun?” Connor and Garcia looked at each other, Connor nodded while Garcia shook her head, they looked at each other again, then did the reverse. 

“Only our personal computers.” Garcia said quickly.

“I would never hack a government database…” Garcia looked at him blankly. “This government anyway…” Hotch raised his eyebrow and tried to hide a smirk. “I haven’t done it since secondary school. It’s way more fun hacking banks anyway.” He mumbled the last bit, then placed a hand over his mouth. “I swear it hasn’t been in at least 10 years, and I only took what I absolutely needed, and there were outlying circumstances and ImadesureitwasequallydistributedacrossallthecustomerssoIwasonlyliketaking5pfromanysingleperson” Garcia put her hand over his mouth to get him to shut up. 

“Good morning Sir!” She said cheerfully. “I brought everything that he asked, and we can get started right away.”

“I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear any of that…” Hotch said as Morgan chuckled in the background. 

“Not our jurisdiction anyway,” Rossi said as he passed. He winked at Connor. “Good to see you out of your corner, Kid,” 

“How long is your locator going to take?” Hotch asked Connor

He thought a moment then pulled Garcia’s hand away from his mouth. “Hopefully no more than a few hours. I would say, somewhere between 3-5 hours.” Hotch nodded. 

“Let us know when you are ready.” Connor grabbed Garcia’s hand and pulled her into his room. 

“Hi, Stephen, Nick,” She said with a grin. 

“Hello Garcia,” Nick said with a warm smile. 

“We will need a table. Rather large. The floor may work. But we don’t want it to catch on fire.” Connor mused. He turned to Stephen and Nick, “We will take about 3-5 hours once we find a place to work, so I will let you know when we are done. Oh, Mighty Hunter, before you set off, I need what you collected yesterday.”

Stephen rolled his eyes. “Stop calling me that Conn,” He tossed Connor the phial. Connor caught it and put it in his pocket.

He scanned the room thinking, “There are tables in the lobby, we should commandeer one or six of those.” 

“Oi,” Nick called to him as the two techies left the room, “Ask first, yeah?” Connor waved his hand to show that he understood. 

They went down to the lobby and Connor turned to the receptionist. “Excuse me, milady, I have been asked by your government to build a contraption that will scan beneath the surface of the ground to see if there are any prehistoric creatures living beneath your town that may one day pop up and eat you all. Do you mind if we use some of the tables in the breakfasting area?”

She looked up from her magazine, “Prehistoric creatures, huh? right...” She said not really caring. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Don’t make a mess.” Connor grinned at her as she turned back to the issue of Cosmo she had open. 

“Cheers,” He and Garcia headed to a table in the back that was near an outlet. She started unpacking things from her bag. He jumped up “Bollocks!” He smacked himself in the forehead. “Just a mo,” He ran back to his room where the door was opening and Stephen’s arm was holding out his laptop bag. “Thanks Stephen!” He said as he grabbed it and ran back to the dining area. 

“Computer?” Garcia asked as she saw him run back with a book back slung over one shoulder. He nodded. 

“Let’s get started! It’s easy enough, similar to one of those devices that detect metal, right? Or can sense bodies. Only this one is going to use  _ this, _ ” He pulled out the sample of the exoskeleton that Stephen had collected the previous day. “So of course we will need a display, to see the area, but you got a premade one, the harder part will be to make the thing that detects the actual exoskeleton. Were you able to find everything I asked for?” He asked.

“It took a while,” She admitted, “For half of the stuff I didn’t even know what I was looking for, until I looked at a bunch of the other ones and realised they were biotech components. Then I figured out the other half were from a lab.”

“Hehe, I should have mentioned that,” Connor said sheepishly. “We do a lot of work with animals and nature, so bio is half of the job. I’ve kind of gotten really good at Biotech.”

“I’m sure.” She nodded. “OK, I will leave the bio and biotech to you, junior genius. Just call me your gorgeous assistant, what can I do?” 

“Um… right now? Work on the display and controls, if you want. We will need to code later, but I need to do some biotech work first.” 

“Done!”

They set to work. The two techs thoroughly enjoyed working in each other’s company. They told jokes, made internet references, talked about geek things, discussed coding, and even talked about the old hacking network where they met all those years ago. They worked quickly and efficiently. Their chatter not slowing them down at all. By the time everyone came down to breakfast at 8:30 they had two and a half tables covered in circuit boards, biotech, two soldering irons, casings, mini screwdrivers, two laptops, and endless more odds and ends. They were both giggling to the point of breathlessness at something someone had said. 

Derek approached the table where they were sitting, both bent over their work, paralysed from laughter, and looked around “So, what’s going on here?”

They took a deep breath and stifled their giggles and looked at him. “Just doing some work,” Garcia said, failing to contain her chuckles. Connor broke down again on the other side of the table. He straightened and stifled his own laughter then nodded. 

He showed Morgan their progress. “Yeah, work.” Then they broke down in giggles again. A minute later their chuckles subsided to something they could work with. They started talking again. Morgan walked away bemused by the friends. 

“I have no idea what is going on over there, but they are working, and they aren’t talking about any of us, so, I figure it’s ok.” He said, going over to the rest of the group. 

“Connor can do a million things at once.” Abby said unsurprised. “I saw him reading an academic book on particle physics once, while he was watching star trek, playing a game on his laptop, and updating the database. It was a time sensitive game, and he was winning. He was keeping up his normal pace reading too. It was weird. Ok, His normal pace reading while doing a million things at once. Still faster than I can read while undistracted though.”

“Have you seen him read undistracted?” Stephen asked, “I have never seen someone go through that many books so quickly.” 

Everyone at the BAU pointed at Spencer. He raised his hand. “I read at 20,000 words a minute. But I rarely read when other things are happening. Or at least, I am pretty single minded, so I get drawn into the book, I can’t even keep up a conversation.”

Abby thought. “I am not sure what it looks like to read that fast, but if I saw, I could tell you. Wait, he’s doing it now. Connor! Stop reading, do your work!” 

“It’s a book on biotech engineering Abbs! Get off my back. I just need to read it real fast.” The book was thick. They could hear him still talking to Garcia as he quickly flipped pages and continued to work on the circuitry in front of him, which was being held by a third hand. 

“How does he do so many things at once?” Rossi asked, amazed. 

“It’s not amazing you how quickly he is reading that? It’s nearly as fast as Reid reads.” Prentiss marveled. 

“Reading quickly, fine, but reading that fast and holding up a conversation and doing advanced engineering? Where did you find this guy?” Rossi asked

“My thesis class,” Cutter said. “And he found us, really. He was the one who came to us about the Gorgonopsid when it first appeared. Everyone thought it was a hoax.”

“You had no idea who he was,” Stephen added,

“I can’t go to all my own lectures, can I?” Cutter defended. “That’s what I got you for.”

“He was the brightest in the class, even then, although his theories needed to be reigned in a bit.” Stephen allowed. 

“Aliens, Honestly.” Cutter laughed

“Conspiracy nut huh?” JJ asked.

“Believed all of ‘em” Cutter replied. “Until he ended up in one, he is over that now. It’s nice to see him like this again.”

“Reminds me of when he built the ADD,” Abby recalled. “He hasn’t built anything recently.”

“Not since… No,” Stephen looked at Reid, who had a book out. “Thanks for the advice by the way. He said it helped, he also thinks he knows what we need to do to complete the bond.”

“Oh, Good.” Reid looked up and smiled. “He seems better today. Less skittish.” 

“Fewer nightmares too.” Nick confirmed. “Only two last night. The first he didn’t even wake up from we just kind of soothed him back to safety, I think. The second, well, you saw. Unfortunately those are more common than we like to admit.”

“Hopefully they will settle when you complete your bond.” Reid stipulated. “But if they don’t try helping him do some lucid dreaming, talk him through the dream. Get him to wake up and acknowledge where he is and who you are. Alpha him if you must but only if it gets really bad. Try to help him gain control himself. Remind him that it’s just a nightmare and you are right there next to him.” He advised.” 

“We will try that.” Stephen said. “Thank you for all the advice, and thank you for being such a good friend to Connor, I know he hasn’t had many of those in his life.”

“That is one thing I know the feeling of, and of course,” Reid bowed his head in acknowledgement. “He has been an equally good one to me. I like him, he is a good kid, a bright and interesting person. He has a good mind.”

“WILL YOU ALL STOP TALKING ABOUT ME BEHIND MY BACK!” Connor shouted from the other table, his ears were bright red. He turned, “I am literally right here, I can hear everything you say.” Everyone laughed. 

“Sorry lad,” Nick got up, went up behind him and lifted his chin so they were looking at each other. He gave him a kiss on the forehead, “Have you had anything to eat yet?” 

“Are there any Flapjacks?” He asked hopefully. His book was on the ground, apparently he had already finished it.

“Flapjacks are a snack, not a meal, Conn,” Abby said from the other table. 

“We can do pancakes.” JJ said, slightly confused. 

“Hahaha,” Stephen laughed, “Sorry, cultural mixup, in Britain a flapjack is kind of like a granola bar,” The Americans laughed. 

“I agree, 179,” Penelope said, “Granola bars are not breakfast, and I am starving, we have been at this for nearly 2 hours.” 

“We are barely halfway done! Let’s just push through!” Connor said, gesturing. “We can eat after.”

“Since when did you ever eat lunch?” Stephen asked, eyebrow raised. 

“Since breakfast was lunch and lunch was tea.” He grinned. Then he huffed seeing Nick’s glare. “Fine, just a tea and toast.”

“Good boy.” Nick ruffled his hair and walked off to get something for Connor at the continental breakfast buffet and Connor turned back to his work. Or rather, his talk with Garcia  _ and _ their work. 

As Nick set down a mug of breakfast tea and some toast in front of Connor, Morgan found a mug and poured some coffee, added some milk and sugar, and pulled a large blueberry muffin from the buffet and put it on a plate, he set both in front of Garcia. "Here you go, Baby Doll, your favourite." 

"My knight!" She said smiling at him, taking a large drink of coffee and big bite of Muffin. 

Connor ignored his breakfast and kept working. Stephen came over to him after finishing his own breakfast. "Eat Conn, or I'm making you take a Tea Break."

Connor looked up at him, "it's barely been 15 minutes, I don't need a tea break!"

"It's been over two hours." Stephen said with a smile. "Eat something." Connor scowled and took a bite of toast, then went back to his work. Garcia had eaten half of her muffin and was working again, her coffee finished. Stephen sighed. "Garcia, can you make sure this idiot finishes his toast?" She nodded and winked a him. "It's two pieces of toast Conn, it's barely breakfast. You can eat that much." Connor rolled his eyes at the older man. Stephen smacked him lightly as he walked away, "I saw that!"

Over the next three quarters of an hour the disparate parts scattered over the table started to come together into something resembling a metal scanner, there was a handle with a monitor on one end and a large disc on the other. The two techs were now programming furiously as the device made beeping sounds. They knew each other’s code so well, having been friends for so long, that it made it easy to work together. 

“So really, Connor,” Penelope asked seriously, and fairly quietly, while they worked. “Are you doing ok?”

Connor looked up at her, considering. “I’m better,” He said as he smiled softly. She stared at him, with scepticism etched all over her face. “No, really. I have known there is something wrong with the bond for a long time, ever since I got back, I could feel it. I think that was part of the reason I was having a problem. But I didn’t think there was anything I could do about it. It hadn’t really occurred to me that it was something I could fix until Spencer said something. I just knew it was deteriorating. Last week I could feel the beginnings of the break. Which I think drove me over the edge.” She looked both concerned and slightly confused. He tried to explain. “Think of a bond as a piece of rope. When it’s whole and undamaged, it is very strong. But an incomplete bond can’t hold the weight of the emotional, mental, and physical stresses of the partners it holds, so it starts to weaken. Very slowly. It doesn’t happen all at once. First it frays, then the smaller fibers start to snap, until there is only one piece holding it together, and then that final fiber, that is actually many smaller threads starts snapping, thread by thread. Once the final thread is broken the bond is broken. I was at that final fiber, I could feel each thread snapping, and it was painful physically- like a knife to the chest, made me highly anxious emotionally, and mentally I felt like I was constantly borderline Subspace, I had to fight with my omega all the time to stay me. Which was exhausting. I just wanted it to stop. I couldn’t ever be an omega with a broken bond. It’s unthinkable for me.”

“What happens to an Omega with a broken bond?” Penelope asked her worry increasing, 

“They lose all sense of who they are,” Connor sighed, a hand scrubbing his face for a moment, before releasing it and looking back to his screen. “They end up in a permanent state of subspace, surviving upon instinct only. Very few pairs have ever been able to repair a broken bond. It is nearly impossible. Basically, I was at the end of my rope, literally. I couldn’t bare the thought of losing Nick and Stephen forever as mates, and it was growing harder to decipher their smells as unique over other Alpha’s. I was feeling unwelcome and unsafe in the home Nick had created for us, and my omega mind kept telling me things about being a worthless partner. I think I can feel the bond start to repair though, and it’s making all the difference.” He smiled a dimpled smile, and went back to coding

Penelope watched him with pity and worry in her eyes. Without seeing the distress his confession had brought her, Connor asked her opinion on operational coding for the display and how she would do it, added a few more lines of code, copied them, pasted then copied and pasted again. “It should work now.” His face lit up as they plugged the device into his computer and downloaded the code. He took the sensor and pressed some buttons. His face fell. 

“What is it?” She asked nervously. 

“We have a good news, bad news situation going on here,” He said, starting out of the lobby of the hotel. “CutTER!!!”” he shouted on his way out. 

Cutter came running in from the rooms, Stephen, Becker and Abby on his heels. “Good news and bad news.” Connor said with an uneasy smile. Hotch, Morgan, Reid, JJ, Rossi, and Prentiss came down the hall too, less quickly. “Good news, the device works, and we got it done in 2 hours and 50 minutes and 32 seconds.” He smiled at Penelope still in the corner, who smiled nervously back. Morgan winked at her. “Bad news is how I know it works. There are a network of tunnels under the hotel.” 


	5. Seigo Anaye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teams find out that they have their work cut out for them. They start to prepare for the siege

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added a little of Native American Culture in there, Please read end notes for details

Cutter looked horrified, Stephen pensive, Abby scared, Becker worried. The BAU looked a little confused, and then Reid got it. “We are miles from the Anomaly site,” he said. “So the two that you caught yesterday...”

“...were the tip of the iceberg,” Becker finished. Connor nodded. 

“Did you see anything moving in any of them?” Morgan asked curiously? 

“I didn’t look long enough to see movement, but there were tunnels, and burrows. And I was just checking to make sure it was working.” 

“Looks like the job’s not done after all…” Cutter noted. “It’s gonna be an all hands on deck situation. Becker, you may need to bring a few of your men out for this. Ask Danny to come out too.” Becker nodded and pulled out his phone. Cutter turned to Hotch, “We could really use the manpower, if you would be willing to help again, but if you have other things you need to do, we understand.” 

“Technically this is still our case,” Hotch replied. “If these things are dangerous, it would probably be best that we don’t let them stay.”

“We could call in SWAT,” Morgan suggested.

“And tell them what?” Stephen asked, “We are hunting prehistoric bugs that have come here and infested our world through a rip in spacetime? It’s a breech in national security.”

“ _ Your _ national security, you are in the states now.” Emily replied. 

“Becker, tell your men to bring all the weaponry and ammunition they can, lethal is fine. We want to kill them, not send them home.” Cutter said to Becker, who was on the phone. His face lit up and he turned back to his call. 

“We are killing them?” Connor asked, “You hate killing the creatures, what about the timeline?”

“They aren’t Silurian anymore,” Cutter said. “Once they have breed here, they have officially become part of our timeline, thus they are from here and now, but are direct descendants of the Silurian Scorpions, and therefore as a society we are woefully outmatched. 

“Abby, check with Sarah and see if there are any records of giant scorpion-like beasties in native legends from this area. We need to see how far back this anomaly dates back to.” Abby nodded and pulled out her phone. 

“We may have someone you can ask about that.” Ried piped up. 

“Native American?” Connor asked Hotch nodded.

“We worked a case a few years back and became friendly with one of the tribal law enforcement liaisons of the local reserve.” Hotch replied. “Reid will remember the number,”    
  
“Ask him if he knows about any legends of beasts that are between 10-20 feet long, 5-10 feet wide, have a large scorpion-like tail, can eat a man whole and burrow underground. From this area in specific. Tell him we know it’s an oddly specific question, but it’s important.” Connor supplied the facts of the animal to Reid. 

“Connor, just go with him.” Cutter said, rolling his eyes.

“If we expand the range on this thing, we may be able to attach it to a car, do a full sweep of the area and put it on a computer. Then Penelope can stay up here and guide us through the labyrinth.” Connor suggested as he and Reid walked out of the lobby into someone’s room. “I’m assuming it’s to look something similar to an ant farm.”

“If the tunnels already go out this far, would it be easier to attach it to something flying?” Reid asked. “How far can you extend the range? Long enough to put it on a drone?”

Connor thought for a moment. “Maybe, but we don’t know how deep these tunnels go, we might be able to map the surface tunnels with a drone, but we might still need the handheld to map as we go. But we may be able to have it sync as we go for a time, and store the data on the harddrive. So whatever doesn’t sync automatically we can transfer when we come up.”

“That’s a good idea.” Spencer acknowledged. He smiled at the younger man. “You seem to be doing better today, I’m glad.” Connor blushed. 

“Let’s call that guy, hopefully those legends mention some way of defeating or keeping the scorpions at bay.” 

Reid pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “....Mr John Blackwolf? Hi, this is Dr Spencer Reid from the Behavioral Analysis Unit at the FBI we met a few years back… yes… on that case… I was hoping you may have some answers for us, I am here with Mr Connor Temple from the Home Office in London… Well we were wondering about some local Native American lore from the area we are in. Specifically creatures. We are in Monument Valley, Utah… How much do you know about the local lore from this area specifically?....Really? …They are? ....Would you -?... It’s concerning the safety of everyone here…. OK. Thank you. I will give her a call.” Reid hung up. “So John doesn’t know too much about the local lore, but he has friends on the reservations who have family who live here, and are from here. So he gave me a cousin’s number who he knows quite well.” Connor grinned. 

“Brilliant.”

Reid dialed again. “Is this miss Ooljee? Miss Moon?... My name is Dr Spencer Reid from the Behavioral Analysis Unit at the FBI and Mr John Blackwolf gave me your number… Yes, that is correct. I am currently in Monument valley and my colleague and I are looking for some insights on some local navajo lore, specifically about a creature that looks like a giant scorpion that lives underground and eats humans... He directed me to you… We are at the Hok’ee inn... You will? ...Great… We would greatly appreciate it….” He hung up.

“What did she say?” Connor asked eagerly. 

“When I mentioned the scorpion she seemed strangely wary. She is coming here to speak to us in person.” Connor’s eyebrows shot up. 

“Interesting…” He thought for a moment. “Let’s go tell Cutter about the idea of mapping the tunnels.” he said excitedly. 

“Sure, kid,” Reid said with a smile. He thought he could understand why Morgan and Rossi used that nickname on him now.

Connor seemed to bounce out of the room. “Cutter!” he said approaching Nick and Hotch who were talking together in the lobby. “I think we need to map the tunnels, I can easily adapt this to long range scanning with some more equipment, and Spence reminded me that the best way to map the whole area is probably a low fly over with a drone. We can do a full map of the top layer of the tunnel system beneath the surface, and then switch it to handheld and take it with us to continue scanning as we go down. That way we could get a full picture. Pen could stay up here and keep us going in the right direction. I’ve already assumed we will be going down into them, unless I’m wrong.”

Nick smiled, “No, you’re right. And if we have a whole map we can have a few teams going in at once, good idea Con.” 

“One thing,” Connor said, “we will need a few extra parts, nothing hard to get,” He added quickly, “but extra. A larger chip to store the data on for one. We could probably send data to Pen’s computer for a short time, but we will probably end up going too deep to be able to do so the whole time. Second, we will probably want at least a single exploratory mission to start, just to finish off the maps, get in, scan for a bit at a few access points around the labyrinth and see how much of the map seems to be missing.” Cutter nodded. “I don’t think it would be smart to start going down there without a complete map.”

“I agree.” 

“Seconded,” Hotch approved.

“We made contact with John Blackwolf, who directed us to a friend who lives here.” Reid put in “She seemed strangely secretive when I described the creatures, she is coming here to tell us about them in person.”

Abby returned. “Sarah said that there are local legends about a scorpion that is larger than life, but it is unclear how far back they go, and if it is one creature or many. She also said that it isn’t just one legend. There are dozens.”

A door opened. A tall, thin, copper skinned woman with long straight black hair that reached her waist walked in. She wore a thin blue collared shirt, and jeans with a leather belt and a silver buckle studded with turquoise. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of brown and had an air of intelligence behind them that was uncontestable. She was wearing well worn hiking boots and a wide brimmed suede hat to keep the sun out of her eyes. As she reached them she took off her hat and gave them a smile. She walked around Hotch and right over to Reid. “Dr Reid, I presume,” He nodded as she held up her hand in greeting. He held up his in response, but did not reach out to shake hands, and neither did she. 

“This is my Unit Cheif SSA Aaron Hotchner, and the rest of my team.” Spencer introduced, allowing Hotch to introduce his pack. 

“SSA Aaron Hotchner,” Hotch repeated, also holding up his hand. “This is SSA David Rossi, SSA Derek Morgan, SSA Emily Prentiss, SSA Jennifer Jareau, Agent Penelope Garcia, and you have met Dr Reid. We are the Behavioral Analysis Unit from the FBI, we were called in to investigate a series of people going missing here.” She nodded. Then looked at Cutter. Hotch continued. “This is my counterpart, Professor Nick Cutter from the Home Office in London.” He explained. 

Nick held up his hand as well. “Professor Nick Cutter, this is Stephen Hart, Captain Becker, Abby Maitland, and Connor Temple,” The woman nodded to the agents from England. “Agent Hotchner found out the operation delt with something outside his domain, and called us to help.”

“I am Ooljee Nez, or Moon,” She said, “John Blackwolf gave you my number because you were looking for information about a local creature, correct?”

They nodded. Nick noted her lack of use of the word “mythical”, or “lore”. She knew that they were real. 

“We call the scorpions Seigo Anaye, or Scorpion Monster. Quite literally.” She said. “Here, we have legends of them as far back as anyone can recall. My grandmother told me stories, her grandmother told her stories, and so on. But they weren’t just legends, they were true. People going missing if they wander too far away from town at night. Giant holes opening up in the middle of the desert, once I saw a vast stinger appear out of nowhere and disappear again.” 

Cutter looked pensive. “Is there anything that seems to attract them?” He asked

“Well, no one this area has ever done Poyote.” She said. “We have been warned since childhood. ‘Poyote makes the anaye steal you from your beds at night.’” 

“How about keeping safe? Anything about staying alive?” Stephen asked next. 

“Brigham Tea and Creosote Bush.” She said, “they do not like the smell it creates. But also never to leave the city after dark. And travel in groups and sticking close together. Although I am not quite sure what that one is about.”

“They sense vibrations in the ground, or used to when the world they lived in was mostly sand.” Cutter said without thinking. “But the ground here is too hard to do it as they normally would. So they must have developed other senses. But it seems that they are still blind. I’m guessing the burning of the herbs changes the air density in some way in addition to giving off some a smell similar to a pheromone. One repels, while the other attracts.” 

Ooljee stared at him. “What sort of professor are you?” She asked curiously. 

“Paleontology and evolutionary science.” He said, not paying attention, still considering her words from before. “Connor and Abby, combine what you know about the behavioral patterns Silurian scorpions and modern scorpions, I’m guessing these will fit somewhere in between, probably closer to Silurian, but I would be remiss if we didn’t at least consider the variables of modern scorpions.” The two nodded. “Connor, can you do that while you extend the range of your device?”

“Well, of course, but I will need some more equipment before I’m able to do that.” Connor said with a shrug. 

“Give Garcia a list, She and Morgan can go pick up what you need.” Hotch said. “The two of you can get started while you wait.” Connor nodded, he went back to their work table and started compiling a list. 

“Becker, what’s going on with your men and Danny?” Cutter asked.

“Lester asked you to call him before he will let anymore people leave the ARC.” Becker replied. Cutter rolled his eyes and walked off towards his room. Stephen muffled a snort of laughter and Becker’s lips quirked in a small grin. 

“They agree on much, do they?” Hotch asked.

“I’m pretty sure Lester would have fired Cutter a dozen times by now, if he could.” Stephen said with a laugh.

“Lester DID fire Cutter, remember?” Abby reminded him. “He didn’t listen and kept working on the Anomaly anyway. It was the the one where the two of you disagreed about where that future water seal thing kidnapped me and dragged me through the sewers. You thought it would stay in the lake, Cutter was convinced it could have come from the sewer.” 

Stephen flushed. “He was right, and it made me feel bloody humiliated. If Connor hadn’t been staying with me at that point, and been there to cheer me up, Helen would have been able to easily taken advantage.” 

“Cutter and Lester both have a bit of a ‘my way or the highway’ approach to things, and they are both Alphas which means that neither wants to give any ground on anything. Lester will say one thing, and Cutter will do the opposite.” Abby said. “Sometimes he does it just to hack Lester off. Which is kind of daft if you ask me.” 

Ooljee was talking to Reid about the history of the Navajo people in the area. He thanked her for her help, and she held up her hand again in farewell. “Glad to be of service to the FBI and Home Office, does this mean you will be taking care of those things for us?” She asked. 

“That’s the goal,” Stephen nodded. “Why, do you think anyone on your reservation would like to assist in our efforts? If they have been plaguing you for centuries, you may be relieved to finally be rid of them.”

She considered him, her deep brown eyes staring straight into his brilliant blue. “I will have to ask. There may be those among us who would not mind taking up arms.”

“I would have to warn you,” Stephen noted cautiously, “We will be going into the tunnels, and we will be unable to guarantee everyone’s safety.”

“Those who come will understand the risks.” She said. “But I will mention it nonetheless. Thank you for your honesty. I will make sure there is no one underage who is among the group.” 

“We will not start before tomorrow morning, we have some preparation to do before we go.”

“If you feel you must do this, we understand and would be glad of the help,” Hotch broke in, looking at the young woman, “But we guarantee that we will make sure none are left before we leave, with or without your help. It is our duty to you as citizens of this country. Do not feel you need to endanger yourselves, we would have taken care of the infestation anyway.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you Agent Hotchner, so many in this country see my people and other idigeonous peoples as outsiders, it is nice to be included in those protected by the government. I will take what you say back to my reservation and we will consider your words. I will contact Dr Reid with our decision.” She held up her hand in farewell and left the lobby. 

Connor came up to the group and held out a list. Hotch raised an eyebrow. “Already?” 

Stephen smirked. “He’s brilliant, or have we not mentioned that.”

“Of course he is. Thanks Hatter.” Garcia gently tapped on the brim of Connor’s hat as he flushed and gave them a dimpled grin. She took the list and turned to see Morgan. 

“Mama, shall we go?” Morgan asked 

“My own handsome knight!” She gasped outrageously as she slid her arm through the proffered arm and they walked out. 

Connor grinned at her as she looked back and gave him a wink. Abby elbowed him. “Come on Conn, let’s get to work. With the info we got from Ooljee, what you know about the different breeds of scorpion, and the information we have discerned from the parioscorpio venator we have encountered, we should be able to map out their behaviour.”

“Let’s not forget they still have some insect in them, millipede I would say, Arthroplura, that’s where the digging is coming into play.” He said, as the two walked off to Connor’s computer.

Hotch looked at Spencer who had been watching them. “Do you know enough about insects and scorpions to be of help to them?”

“I know that  Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping pincers and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and ending with a venomous sting. Scorpions range in size from 9–12 mm (0.35–0.47 in) to 23 cm (9.1 in). The evolutionary history of scorpions goes back 435 million years. They mainly live in deserts but have adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions, and they can be found on all continents except Antarctica.” Reid recited from memory. “ There are over 2,500 described species, with 22 extant (living) families recognised to date.” He thought for a moment. Then said “I also know that most scorpion species are nocturnal or crepuscular, finding shelter during the day in burrows, cracks in rocks and tree bark. Many species dig a shelter underneath stones a few centimeters long. Some may use burrows made by other animals including spiders, reptiles and small mammals. Other species dig their own burrows which vary in complexity and depth.  _ Hadrurus _ species dig burrows as over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) deep. Digging is done using the mouth parts, claws and legs. The Scorpion -”

Hotch smiled and let Reid talk. After a while he cut off his mate saying, “Why don’t you go offer to help Abby and Connor, Genius.” Spencer grinned and trotted over to where the two were working. They looked up and welcomed him. Connor turned his computer to show Spencer the article he had for the parloscorpio venator of the Silurian period and other similar animals in the familia. 

  
  


Hotch, Stephen, Becker, Rossi, JJ, and Prentiss were left. They stood there, not knowing what to do. 

Cutter stomped back down the hall cursing under his breath. Connor’s head shot up from where he was sitting, and he ran back to meet him in the center of the lobby. He knew Cutter hated dealing with Lester and that being around Connor helped calm him down. Cutter put a hand to his head as he unconsciously pulled the Omega in by the waist, breathing him in. “Lester giving you a hard time again?” Connor asked.

“The bureaucracy is a bloody nightmare.” He said.

“You too huh?” Rossi asked with a smirk

“You would think that saving Britain a few dozen times from being trampled by dinosaurs would give us some leeway, but apparently because nothing actually happened, they don’t take us seriously.” Cutter turned to Rossi. 

“But if you drop the ball or screw up because you don’t have what you need, it’s all your fault and they won’t let you hear the end of it?” Prentiss asked, Stephen and Connor nodded. 

“We know the feeling,” Hotch said with annoyance. 

“And since this is America, He has to coordinate with the American agencies. No one but your BAU group knows what we do here. So, that’s always a fun surprise.” Cutter continued. 

“No kidding.” Becker grumbled. 

“Lester told you, you just didn’t believe him.” Cutter pointed out. 

“It’s not something any sane person would believe until they saw proof.” Connor confirmed. “My friends were the biggest conspiracy nuts on earth, and even they didn’t believe it.”

“I know Lester wouldn’t have believed it until he saw Rex,” Stephen smirked. “That was an interesting conversation.”

“No kidding.”

“I don’t think any of us would have believed it until we saw that mammoth.” Prentiss remarked. 

“Manny is so sweet,” Connor said, “Abby is really good with them.” 

“Connor, aren’t you supposed to be working?” Cutter asked

“You were upset.” Connor said with his head down and looking through his lashes at Nick. 

Nick took off his hat, kissed his head, ruffled his hair a bit, and replaced the black hat. “Thanks Lad, I’m better now, Go help Abby.” Connor grinned and ran off.

“He has a lot of energy, doesn’t he?” Prentiss remarked, as they watched him. 

Stephen snorted, “No kidding, this is how he was before…” He broke off. 

“Never stopped moving.” Cutter confirmed. 

“Constantly getting into trouble in the field,” Becker added,

They all smiled. “It’s nice to see it coming back.” Nick noted. “Sorry Becker, you will have your hands full again.”

Becker shrugged, “I’m just glad he’s doing better.”

There was a long pause. 

“So…” JJ said slowly, “Shall we walk around town for a while? Try to kill some time?”

Becker, Cutter and Stephen looked at each other. 

“What?” Prentiss asked.

“We don’t yet know where the mouths of these tunnels are, we don’t know how deep they go, how long they span, or how many creatures are in them. I wouldn’t recommend walking outside without knowing where these tunnels are. Someone could fall through the dirt into a labyrinth with a giant killer on the other end.” Cutter pointed out. 

Hotch pursed his lips, considering. Then he nodded. “Point taken.”

“Movie in someone’s room then?” Prentiss asked

“As long as it’s not Centipede…” Rossi said,

“Seconded,” Stephen shuddered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly did not anticipate bringing native american culture into this, but i tried to do it justice. I did research and tried not to make any assumptions. The Navajo people were the dominant tribe in the small area of Utah that Monument Valley is located in and Her name means Moon. Her last name is also a common one among the Navajo people. or so Wikipedia tell me. 
> 
> As for the plants, they are both common in that area of Utah and are medicinal herbs and can be used to make tea. I wanted something with a stark contrast to what little i know about Poyote. (Which, to be fair, isnt a lot. then again, i made up these creatures, so i can make up what attracts them)
> 
> In terms of their name, Seigo Anaye literally means Scorpion Monsters. Anaye were "Alien Gods" that plagued the Navajo people for a long time. I just made up one more of these "monsters" to add to the list.   
> I did look for a suitable alternative, but I couldn't find any similar creature in Navajo folklore. 
> 
> I really tried to do justice to the Navajo and the native american people, because as a Jew, i hate cultural appropriation, but i dont know how well i did. Please let me know if you have a problem with it. If you are Navajo by any chance, also please let me know, i would love to know your opinion. I plan to include them more in future chapters, but this was my introduction. 
> 
> Please comment and kudos - because reviews keep me writing


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hijinks with Abby, Spencer and Connor as they talk scorpions and make stuff

Spencer thoroughly enjoyed working with Abby and Connor. He of course had gotten used to talking to Connor over the phone over the past few months. And it seems that Abby was quite used to figuring out how to speak ‘genius’ because she knew exactly where and when to input her thoughts and how to steer the discussion back towards relevancy whenever he or Connor got off track. Which was a lot. He could see why Connor considered her his best friend, she really understood him. They worked in a symbiotic way, similar to how he got on with… wait… he tried to think for a moment about anyone he had such an intuitive relationship with. Maybe Emily, but Morgan and JJ treated him like their kid sibling…

“Spencer?” Connor looked at him, he had been zoning out for a few minutes. “What’s on your mind?” He appreciated how Connor spoke to him. As an equal. A friend. Not someone with a “big beautiful brain” as though that was the only thing that was appealing about him. He knew that was the reason he had been recruited to the BAU, but he didn’t like that sometimes he felt like just a piece of intelligence to the team. Even to Hotch and Morgan, his mates. 

“I was just admiring your relationship with Abby, the friendship you share is really great.” He said with a smile. “She seems to really get you.” Connor grinned at Abby, who ruffled his hair and smiled back. 

“It took a while,” Abby said, “I got caught up by his childishness for a long time before realising he is actually quite intelligent.”

“I told you before!” Connor said defensively, “That much time on the streets makes you wary, ok? People don’t like geniuses on the streets. Especially genius Omegas. Better to be a dimwit Beta.” 

“I can attest to that,” Spencer said. “It’s no better here. I never spent time on the streets, but I understand the sentiment.” 

“I never said I didn’t understand why you hid,” Abby replied, “I just wish you would have shown me your smart side earlier. Seriously Conn, I think Spencer is the only one I know who even comes remotely close to being as smart as you. That includes Cutter.” Connor ducked his head and blushed. 

“That’s not true.” He said, “Nick is way smarter than me.” 

“Cutter is older than you,” She replied, “Has more experience, experience and intelligence are not the same. When you are his age you will be twice as smart.” 

“I thought you were supposed to be keeping us on track,” Spencer said with a grin.

“You were the one lost in your own head,” Connor teased.

“Touche” Spencer said, “Did you know the phrase Touche comes from-”

“And our buggy boy here,” Abby said loudly, before Spencer could go off on a tangent. She flashed her teeth at him. 

“It’s called a ‘Pterygotus’ and it’s part of the ‘Eurypterida’ order.” Connor said without missing a beat. “They are generally water dwelling.”

“Were,” Spencer corrected him absently.

“In our line of work, the term ‘extinct’ doesn’t really apply as much…” Connor retorted.

“He’s right,” Abby said with a grin. “I mean, you’ve met Manny, right?” She was referring to the mammoth in their menagerie in London.

Spencer chuckled, “Don’t forget about Rex, and Sid and Nancy,” Connor piped up. 

“Yeah, having pets that are supposed to be extinct gives you a new definition for the word.” She grinned. 

“Rex is...,” Spencer asked, 

“A Coelurosauravus.” Abby filled in. 

“And Sid and Nancy are Diictodons, male and female.” Connor added.

“So named because that’s what Cutter used to call the two of us.” Abby said with a wink at Connor. “Nancy” She stuck out her tongue at him.

“Who are you calling ‘Nancy’? Obviously you are Nancy, I’m Sid!” Connor put his hands on his hips proudly.

“I could agree, you two are similarly boneheaded.” She giggled. 

“Abby!” Connor cried, scowling at her. 

“I’m not the one who almost froze to death because of him” She poked him in the forehead. 

“Sarah told you about that huh?” He pouted. 

“What did you do this time, Connor?” Spencer asked with a grin, “I don’t think I’ve heard this story yet.”

“Oh, you know, hyper aggressive alien fungi that multiplies in seconds when moisture applies to it.” Connor shrugged, “You know, the usual.” 

“Only this one, when it kills its host, it took it over, to spread pores everywhere else and contaminate the world, if possible. Ended up with a politician who turned into a walking fungus monster.” Abby said with a shiver. 

“So, Sarah and I tried to figure out how to kill it.” Connor said. “One of Christine’s soldier minion’s tried to investigate and touched the thing I put into a containment unit. Idiot…” 

“Oh, that’s the woman you told me about? Who tried to take Lester’s spot?” Spencer asked. Abby and Connor nodded in unison. 

“Bitch…” Abby said under her breath.

“Well, Danny and I went to put the dead bloke into a body bag with our protective gear on so the fungus didn’t hurt anyone else, and we came out. When we went out of the lab, Sarah realised the thing was up and moving and breaking out of the damn bag!” Connor was getting worked up now. “So, we quickly tried to figure out how to kill it, first we tried heat. Which made the thing blow up. That’s when I noticed Sid in the vents and had to go in to get him. Stupid animal. We also realised the fungus wasn’t actually dead. I opened a specimen cooling door and noticed the fungus shrinking away, so I had Sarah start cooling the room. But it had already spread so much that I couldn’t get out. So I hung out and froze a bit.” 

“And this is why we don’t leave Sid and Nancy in places they can chew.” Abby said, glaring at him. “They are Diictodons, what did you expect? They are like more efficient beavers. That can eat everything!” 

“I know!” Connor said with chagrin. “I learned my lesson! I have to say, neither Stephen or Nick enjoy having them at home much though. Ok, that’s not true, Nick loves them. They just eat everything.” 

“Seriously Connor?” Spencer chuckled. “That sounds nearly as bad as the giganotosaurus story.”

“The G-rex was way more fun.” Connor said, shaking his head. 

“Better than the birds.” Abby said with a grin.

“Everything was better than them.” He cried. “Except maybe the Predators. I hate those things.”

Abby giggled. “I don’t know anyone who likes them.”

“Maybe Helen,” Connor laughed.

“Leek,” Abby continued

“Only until they killed him,” Connor contradicted. 

“So that’s what happened to Leek?” Spencer asked. For some reason he was able to follow the conversation between the friends perfectly. 

“Brain modulators fried.” Abby explained.

“Nick fried them.” Connor laughed. “I really shouldn’t laugh, but he deserved it. I mean he is an idiot for trying to control Predators.”

“I can picture it, grabbing one of those personality adjusters and sticking them into the wiring of the building.” Abby chuckled heartily, Spencer joined them. 

“What’s going on over here?” Nick asked joining them at the table.

The three of them looked at the professor for a moment, then Connor started giggling and the others followed suit. “Ten on one!”

“Gotta known that would have gone badly at some point.” Abby squealed amid laughter

“One would think,” Spencer said with pleasant laughter. 

“I am missing something…” Nick said with a small frown. 

“You could never miss anything as badly as Leek did.” Abby said lightly. 

Nick rolled his eyes. “I thought you three were supposed to be working, not telling stories of previous exploits.” 

“Aww, but I just had to tell the american genius about our definition of extinct. And how we have some as pets. Then stories about Sid and Nancy turned into most dangerous exploits, and that turned into people who may actually enjoy the Predators. You know how conversations go…” Connor grinned trying to tell his mate the flow of their conversation. 

Nick looked fondly down at his Omega and ruffled his hair. “Have you written down anything that could help?” 

“We have lots, don’t worry, I kept us on track for the first three quarters of an hour at least.” Abby assured him. 

“Then you devolved with us.” Spencer pointed out.

“I won’t deny that,” Abby agreed with a grin. 

“So, are Danny and Sarah and Ditzy and Blade and the others going to join us?” Connor asked, looking up at Nick eagerly. 

“They will be here by tea, lad, don’t worry.” Nick replied. 

“WE’RE BACK!!” Yelled a voice from the doorway of the hotel as light flooded through the open doors. A silhouette of two people stood there, one with a hand up and holding a large bag. “Alright 179, let’s do this!” 

Connor ran over to the woman in the doorway and grabbed the bag, hugging her. “Thanks KittyKat, let’s get to work!” 

“‘179’? ‘KittyKat’?” asked Morgan, walking in the door after them, and joining them at the table, unconsciously putting an arm around Reid. “Where did these nicknames come from?”

“I’m 187, he’s 179,” Reid tried to explain. 

“IQ,” Nick put in when Morgan still looked lost. The two in question were pulling out the tech and adding it to their piles. 

“KittyKat?” He inquired. 

“Not sure about that one.” Abby replied, “But they talk a lot more than we know, you now, online. So I’m guessing it could be a computer thing.” 

“Screen Name!” Garcia said from where she was. 

“Short for Gothkittyqueen,” Connor added. 

“It’s not really shorter,” Garcia commented. 

“No, but it’s easier to say and cuter,” Connor said with a wink. “Besides, it’s more fitting right now, you may have been super goth at one point, but now you are more goth in the dictionary sense rather than the cultural sense. Doesn’t fit as much.” 

“Point!” She exclaimed and they went back to work, 

“What is dictionary sense versus cultural sense?” Morgan asked Reid, “It’s like they are speaking another language,”

“They are talking about what a word has grown to mean over years of use versus what it originated meaning.” Spencer explained easily. “‘Gothic’, for instance, was derived from the french gothicus, from gothi in latin. It was used in the 17th and 18th centuries to mean ‘not classical’ (as in, not Greek or Roman), and hence to refer to Medieval architecture which did not follow classical models, and typeface based on medieval handwriting. I am assuming what Connor means is that Garcia is Gothic as it pertains to the meaning of ‘not classical’ which is true. She is neither Greek, nor Roman.”

“She is also not classical in our society’s norm either. Which could be what he is referring to, just that she is different, in a good way. Counter culture,” Morgan concluded. 

“We should let those geniuses get back to their work, everyone is in the other room. Stephen and Becker found the IT Crowd and insisted on putting it on.” Nick said, rolling his eyes. 

“I love that show!” Abby laughed as she ran down the hall. 

The other two shrugged and the three men followed after her. 

* * *

* * *

It didn’t take long for Garcia and Connor to get their scanner put together. Connor had made it so that it worked in two ways, it could fly above the ground as a drone and scan up to 2 metres from the surface with a radius of 10 metres. This would sync wirelessly and instantaneously to Garcia’s computer where she would be creating a 3D model of the labyrinth. Once they descended into the tunnels the scanner could be switched from air flight to handheld, which had a scanning radius of 8 metres on all sides. This could both display on the screen where they were, and store the gathered information on a drive to take back to the main computer. Wireless syncing was disabled after entering the subterraining levels. Connor and Garcia were also able to work up two more mini scanners with video that scanned half as far, but expanded its radius to double when the radars were within range of another. 

The initial radar scanner was simple, the thing that made this one unique was the ability to scan for specific life forms. In this case, any creature in the Eurypterida order. It was tricky, and required an extra half hour of work on Connor’s part to try to figure out the bioengineering and mechanics that would make it work, but he was confident that he had figured it out. 

“Done!” He said finally, snapping the final casing onto the second of the secondary scanning devices. 

“Hot,” Garcia said with a chuckle.

“How’s that program coming, Alice?” Connor asked

“Ready and waiting for info, Hatter,” She said, saluting him with a wink. 

“I will let everyone know.” Spencer said, running off to where the rest of the group was hanging out. 

Morgan, Hotch, Cutter, Becker, Jenny, Abby, Prentiss, Rossi, and JJ wandered out of the room leisurely.

“I have never seen that show before!” Prentiss was saying. 

“It’s really popular in the UK,” Abby told her

“Moss is hilarious,” Morgan said, laughing, “he cracks me up.”

“‘Jen, this is the Internet. You broke the internet.” JJ said with a smile.

“I relate to Moss,” Connor said from where he was seated. 

“I can see that.” Prentiss replied, going over and ruffling his hair. 

“Especially when it comes to sports, isn’t that right, Con?” Stephen said with a cheeky grin. 

“I just don’t see what is so fascinating about watching a ball being kicked around a field!” Connor defended. “Hurray, he’s kicked the ball, now the ball is over there. That man has it now. That’s an interesting development, maybe he’ll kick the ball. He has indeed and apparently that deserves a round of applause.”

“That is a direct Moss quote.” Hotch observed. 

“I have a good memory.” Connor replied with a shrug. “Ok, do you want to see what I have made to track down our beasties?”

The BAU and ARC team gathered around one of the tables in the lobby while Connor and Garcia showed them the flying radar, how it could turn into a handheld radar, and the two secondary scanners for the other groups. 

“Is two going to be enough?” Hotch asked curiously. “That means we could only split into three groups, if Garcia stays here, there are still, 11 of us.”

“Thirteen if we count Danny and Sarah who are coming later, and we don’t know how many Special Forces they are bringing.” Stephen pointed out.

“And then we offered for the Apache tribe to help if they wanted to.” Spencer put in. 

“So, how many should be made then?” Connor asked. 

“If we split into groups of three, if we count few to no civilian volunteers, that gives us 5 groups.” Prentiss supplied. “Assuming at least 2 of your special forces are coming, Becker.” 

“Can you make 5 more?” Cutter asked.

“Not with what we have here.” Connor said. “We would need to go get more supplies.” 

“Do you need to operate the drone?” Hotch asked, “or can you go pick up more supplies?”

“Well, ideally, I would operate the drone, and Pen would be rendering what we find on the computer while we search. She will be able to tell us when we hit the edges.” Connor tried to explain. “A drone isn’t that easy to learn to fly. I wouldn’t trust anyone but Pen or I to do it, unless anyone has special tech or video gaming skills.” 

He looked around at everyone. 

“So, that leaves Garcia and Connor occupied, Morgan, do you remember what you got last time?” Hotch asked. “Could you find it again?” 

“Sure,” He said, “It shouldn’t be too difficult, Bab- Garcia was explaining what everything was gonna do as she picked each component out. I may need the list again though.” He said to Connor. 

Garcia rummaged in her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. Connor intercepted it for a moment. Pulling a pen from Hotch’s breast pocket, he crossed a few items off the list, added x’s and numbers next to others, and added a few more components. He handed the list to Morgan, capped the pen, and stuck it back where he found it. “Thanks Hotch.” He said with a dimpled grin. Hotch looked down at him and seemed slightly afronted and amused at the same time. 

“You are rather cheeky, you know that?” He said to the tech. 

Abby laughed. “Don’t we know it!”

Cutter pulled Connor to him from behind with one arm, hugging him. “And we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Connor looked up at Cutter and Stephen, standing next to each other and smiled, a blush creeping up his cheeks. 

“Morgan, You and Prentiss go and find the items required,” Hotch said, “Connor, take a few people with you to survey the area.” Becker, Abby, Stephen and Cutter all stepped up. 

“I’ll hang back,” Jenny said lightly, “Help JJ with the cover story, you guys seem to have Con. covered.” She grinned at them. 

Morgan and Prentiss left for the shopping center a few hours away. 

Connor picked up the other two secondary scanners. He handed one to Hotch and Rossi. “You guys can use this one if you want.” he said, “it doesnt have as much coverage, and it is wireless, but it will still scan a good 8 metres in each direction, we can plug it into Alice’s rendering when you get back. There is a small screen to show you what is under you.” He demonstrated, pushing the on button. “Just walk around, it will automatically save.”

He tossed another one to Becker and Abby, “I don’t need all of you, if we collect the data faster we can get a realistic view of what we are up against quicker.” 

Abby passed her device to Stephen. “I’m going with you Conn.” She said adamantly.

“I feel so loved.” Becker said sarcastically. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if the science behind the scanners is possible. especially the bioengineering bit, but, whatever, I don't really GAF

**Author's Note:**

> Please give kudos and comments. they keep me going.


End file.
